Taking Flight
by WinglessCrows
Summary: It seemed that it was fate that brought Kageyama and Hinata to Karasuno High School to form the ultimate Volley-duo, but could fate really be responsible for this. A story about Kageyama's admiration, and perhaps mild obsession, for Hinata, how it develops from there and how fate plays a strange role in their lives. ON HIATUS.
1. Endings and Beginnings

**Since the second season is getting me really hyped, I got some inspiration to finally write something for Haikyuu! It's really one of my favorite series and this little idea couldn't quite escape my head, so I wrote it down.**

 **It can be read as pre-Kagehina, but also completely platonic. I hope you like it :D**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

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Endings and Beginnings

It was the first match of the Inter-High of Kageyama Tobio's last year in Middle School and it seemed that he'd make it to the next day just fine. Their opponents only had a six man team, which was the bare minimum to enter a tournament. The team seemed to be composed of mostly first years, if one had to judge based on their height, or rather, the lack of it and they acted like they had never been to a Volleyball tournament before this very day.

Kageyama sighed, not because he felt bad for the other team, but because of what it meant for him. The players on his team had a tendency to not go all out, if they thought that their opponents were weak enough, especially that Kunimi, he really knew how to slack off in both practise and matches. Kageyama hated this side of his team for two reasons. The first one being that you never knew the potential of a team until you played them, they could look weak, but play like professionals and then who would be regretting letting their guard down? The second reason didn't have much to do with Volleyball and at the same time it had everything to do with it. Kageyama found this sort of behaviour extremely rude and disrespectful. Sure, Kageyama probably wasn't the nicest guy and he could admit to having yelled at his team quite a few times, but being rude to your own team, because they couldn't spike a god damn ball right, and being disrespectful to your opponents were two very different things. Kagayama could at this very moment feel that his temper did not want to be contained and he prayed that his team mates could, for once, just play properly, but he knew his prayers would not reach anyone and braced himself for the worst.

It wasn't long until Kageyama had his first encounter with the Captain of the other team. He'd been walking down the hall, trying to calm his head. He wasn't nervous or anything, he was pretty confident that he'd come out of this match as the victor, but his team was really getting under his skin today, even moreso than usual. This was when he heard some familiar voices belonging to some of his Kohai and it seemed that they were mocking someone. The scene that met him was rather odd. There were three of his Kohai, who were talking to a small player (a first-year perhaps?), who was looking like he had very intense stomach issues, but, nonetheless, was declaring that his team would win against Kitagawa Daiichi and all of the other teams... apparently. The three second-years simply laughed this off and said that there was no chance that they'd ever win. This is when Kageyama stepped in.

"Oi, Second-years. We're starting the official warm-up. Hurry up and get to it." The warm-up was still about ten minutes off, but a little white lie never hurt. The Second-years swarmed together and hurried out of the way, but not before getting in another insult, which just continued to piss Kageyama off.

"You lot. Even though you're on the bench, do you plan to get stronger by looking down on your opponents? Don't ride the laurels of your school's name." That little speech seemed to do the trick as his Kohai quickly ran off, but this one wasn't a lie at all. He'd meant every word.

"I was going to say that too, y'know," A small voice blurted and Kageyama turned to the small Captain, yes he was the Captain, who was still clutching his stomach tightly.

"Guys who can't even manage their own bodies shouldn't say self-important things. That's why you get ridiculed. It's only natural to be completely prepared for a match. Just what did you come here to do? 'Make memories' or something?" He hadn't meant to sound so mocking, but he was really having a bad day and now that he'd said it, he was not going to apologize. However, the small player's response surprised him.

"I came here to win of course!"

Kageyama then felt two things. First was a momentary feeling of admiration, then came the anger. This person was making it sound like winning was easy, if you just wanted it badly enough. Everybody wanted to win, wasn't that human nature?

"You're saying that as if it is extremely easy to do. You're saying that despite knowing that height is something essential to Volleyball?"

"It's true that I'm not very tall. However!" _What 'However' could there be?_ "I can jump!"

Kageyama, who had begun walking away, stopped in his tracks and looked back at the player.

"It isn't as if the outcome of the match has already been decided. I don't have to give up-"

"'Not giving up' is easier said that done. It's not just about compensating for differences in physique, skill and willpower. You'll understand in the match." This guy was seriously beginning to piss him off and Kageyama hoped that he could close the conversation with this, but the boy continued.

"Finally... I can finally... Play Volleyball... On a proper court... With six people!" _What did he mean and why did he sound like he was about to cry?_ "The first match and the second. We'll win. We'll win. And our team will play lots of matches!" _Who did this guy think he was?_

"In the first match, the second, the last and in all matches nation-wide." Kageyama was finally facing the boy looking him directly in the eye, "The one standing on the winning side of the court will be me!" And with that Kageyama was determined to end all conversation and left before the small player could give any sort of response.

It was finally time for the match to begin and Kageyama could finally see their opponents in their fullest and, to be honest, they didn't look all that impressive, but that wasn't going to stop Kageyama from going all out. From what he had gathered from his coach and some conversations he had overheard, apparently, the team consisted of three first-years, two back-up players who didn't know much about Volleyball and were just there because they needed six people and the Captain, who was, surprisingly, a third-year, even though he looked like he could be in Elementary School. Kageyama looked at his team and he could practically read their minds and knew that they could not be counted on in this match. Kageyama sighed and the whistle, signalling the beginning of the match, blew.

The beginning of the first set went quickly and without their opponents scoring a single point, although, Kageyama couldn't exactly say that it was because his team was good, it was mostly because the other team were really bad. They didn't know how to receive and when they did receive the ball ended up going right back to Kageyama and his team would then score on a spike. Kageyama was really wondering why these people had signed up for this tournament to begin with as they were clearly out of their league, but then something happened. In the end, their opponents didn't score a point, but Kageyama really couldn't care less about the score at that moment, because, somehow, they had seemed to successfully toss the ball to their Captain and despite his height, he jumped to spike the ball. And _damn_ he could jump. The small Captain had claimed to be able to do so, but Kageyama had been sure that he was bluffing, boy, was he proven wrong.

Despite the impressive jump, Kageyama easily blocked him, trumping his jump with his own height, but had his body not moved on instinct, when the toss had gone up, Kageyama probably wouldn't have moved. Many things went through Kageyama's head in those few seconds, but one stood out more than the others. _What else can this player do?_

Kageyama found himself wondering this, until his team's lack of conviction and respect started showing in their game play. This, of course, allowed their opponents to take a point right as the first set was coming to an end, but this time rather than being impressed with his opponents, he turned on his team. The conviction and passion in their opponents were clear as a summer day, but this had somehow escaped the people, whom he was supposed to work with.

"Even though the match's decided, don't slack off!" Kageyama shouted, trying to put some sense into their heads.

"I know that..." Kunimi started, "but see... not even a miracle could reverse that point difference."

"That single point just now wasn't a miracle, it was taken from us!" Kageyama really couldn't understand these people and it was making him angrier than usual, "That guy took a point from us!" It seemed that no matter what he said, his team remained as indifferent as ever and Kageyama stopped trying to change it. For now.

Kageyama could feel himself boiling over, when the whistle blew and the first set ended. There was a short break, where their coach would give them some advise coming into the second set, but Kageyama was paying a lot more attention to the other team and, especially, their Captain. He was short, probably not even 160 cm, but he could easily jump as high as any player on Kageyama's team and they had some height to them. He was unnaturally optimistic, as he somehow still tried to convince his team that they had a chance at victory, and he practically oozed passion, very unlike some of the players Kageyama was forced to play with and, for a moment, he wished that he could swap teams.

The second set began and it went a lot like the first set, though it seemed as if their opponents had gotten slightly more used to receiving and thus had more offensive play, but were still blocked most of the time. It wasn't until Kitagawa Daiichi's match point that something happened again. The opponents received, sent the ball to the setter, who then tossed to a place where no one was. For a second. Because, somehow, in some way that Kageyama couldn't even comprehend at the time it happened, that small Captain had jumped to spike the ball, even though Kageyama could have sworn on his life that he was standing on the other side of the court. The jump then resulted in him falling into the barrier, which divided two courts, but he'd spiked it. And when the it was signalled that the ball was out of bounds, Kageyama felt like he didn't deserve to win. At least not until they scored another point, because that point should not have gone to them and it should not have ended the match. He saw the look on the short Captain's face and he knew that he felt the same. And then that feeling was replaced by anger, because Kageyama simply couldn't fathom how someone with such skill, passion and talent could possibly be so lousy at Volleyball. It simply didn't make any sense and he got so caught up in these thoughts that he didn't notice that he was moving closer to the net, but when he came face to face with the short Captain his emotions seemed to overflow.

"What were you doing for the last three years?!" He shouted, but there was no respond and the small Captain seemed so devastated that would never get an answer no matter how long he waited, so Kageyama walked away.

It was the end of the day, every team was packing up their stuff, some would come back the next day to play more matches and some would go home knowing that their time in the Inter-High had ended early. Kageyama was heading home planning to eat, bathe and sleep, so he'd prepared for matches in the morning, when someone called out to him.

"You!" Kageyama turned around to find the small Captain a lot closer that he'd expected him to be, "If you're the reigning 'King of the Court' then!" He paused and tears started streaming down his cheeks, "I'll overthrow you from your title, and I'll be the who stands on the court the longest!"

Had this been any other person, any other player, any other opponent that he had defeated, Kageyama would have turned around and left without saying anything in response, but, just this once, he'd make an exception and a gamble.

"The only ones who remain on the court are the winners and the strong. If you want to win and advance, try growing stronger!" He had nothing else to say, but talent like that should not be wasted and Kageyama hoped that he would see the day where this player would become strong. Though he said none of this out loud and left the player behind.

During the last meeting of the day, Kageyama only asked his couch one question and the answer he got was: Hinata Shoyou.

* * *

Kageyama was lying on his bed, tossing a ball up and catching it again, repeatedly. Kitagawa Daiichi had lost. Kageyama had lost and he could quite come to terms with his feelings, because despite the anguish and frustration that came with loss, there was also a sense of relief. He would never have to play with his former team again. He knew that they were all going to Aoba Josai, which meant that as long as Kageyama avoided that school, he'd be fine. No more of all that 'King of the Court' crap. Kageyama's first choice of High School was of course Shiratorizawa, the best school in the prefecture, but not having gotten a letter of recommendation from them, he would have to enlist through normal means, which meant an entrance exam and Kageyama wasn't the best, when it came to academic studies. This meant that he needed a back-up plan. There was always Date Kogyo, but they were a very blocking-focused team, not exactly what Kageyama was looking for, being an offensive player himself. There were other powerhouses as well, but Kageyama either found that the he knew nothing about the team or he would need better grades to get in. It seemed that Kageyama would either have to make a random decision or somehow gather information on some of the schools. He just wanted to play with people who shared his passion and had the skill to match his tosses. Someone who was fast. Someone who could jump. Someone like Hinata Shoyou.

Kageyama bolted up from his bed. What school was he going to? If he could just go to the same school, then all his problems would be solved, probably... However, Kageyama soon realized that there was no way that he could ever figure out what school Hinata would attend and he let himself collapse back unto the bed. He only knew his name and nothing else, he couldn't even remember the name of his Middle School, even though he had fought them. Kageyama fell asleep as his head got tired from thinking.

* * *

There was week until they had to choose their High School and Kageyama had yet to decide. His parents was urging him to make up his mind soon, but Kageyama simply couldn't. It was for that exact reason that he was now skipping class to snoop around at another Middle School, namely Yukigaoka Middle School. Kageyama had remembered that he he'd kept track on which schools advanced in the tournament and, of course, it'd had Hinata's school on it. So here he was.

Being a student from another school, he wasn't allowed to enter, but he wouldn't have known what to do if he had entered. He didn't want to confront Hinata, and explain to him, why he wanted to know what High School he was going to attend. That was just stupid. Kageyama stood outside the school for a good thirty minutes and it slowly became clear to him that maybe, just maybe, he was getting a little too obsessed with Hinata. When it came down to it, he didn't actually know anything about him and, maybe, the reason why he'd seemed so good, was because his team was really shitty. Kageyama was about to leave and just apply for the closest school with just a decent reputation in Volleyball, when people started coming out from the school building and he heard a somewhat familiar voice.

"Eeehh?! Why won't you apply to Karasuno?"

"I told you, I'm going to a school with good Basketball Club, this year is the chance to win the Winter Cup. The Generation of Miracles will be in Middle School for another year, so I need to attend a school with a strong team!" (A/N: See what I did there)

"Karasuno could have a good team!"

"Karasuno doesn't have a basketball team, Shoyou!"

The two boys then proceeded to talk about classes and the finals, which Hinata was not looking forward to, but Kageyama didn't care at this point. He had found his High School.

That night Kageyama researched Karasuno, just in case that the school had a horrible reputation. But it didn't, not quite. From what Kageyama could gather, the school had once been a powerhouse, but in recent years they had fallen down the ranks, although they still remainedin the best eight in the prefecture. Newer articles called them 'The Flightless Ravens' and 'The Fallen Champions', not exactly praise, but Kageyama could turn that around, of that he was confident. Older articles wrote of their prime and two names came up ever so often; 'Couch Ukai' and 'The Small Giant', who'd been the core, when Karasuno had gone to nationals and it seemed that this 'Ukai' would be coming out of retirement soon, according to these rumours. Yes, Karasuno seemed like a good choice.

* * *

It was April, first day of school, first day at Karasuno and Kageyama was standing alone in the gymnasium. He was practising his jump serve and ready to prove himself to his Senpai to hopefully gain the spot as a regular sooner rather than later. He had already handed in his application form and, now, he was just waiting for somebody to walk through the door. Just as Kageyama tossed the ball up in the air and prepared to hit it, somebody jumped, yes _jumped_ , through the door and loudly exclaimed:

"What are you doing here?!" It was Hinata Shoyou. The ball landed on Kageyama's head.

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 **If you liked it, then feel free to favorite it and perhaps leave a review, they always cheer me up. For now, this story is just a one-shot, but I have some ideas for a second chapter, so if you want it, just let me know. Have a good day!**


	2. King of the Court

**Hey there! So someone said that they wanted a second chapter, so here we go. After much thought, I've decided to make this a multi-chapter fic. So there are more chapters to come. I will be uploading every Friday, except for chapter 3, which will be out in two weeks, due to the fact that I have a very important paper I need to write.**

 **I would also, very much like you guys' opinions on where the story should be heading, because even though I have much of it planned, there are some minor details, which I would like you to decide.**

 **The first of which is whether or not, I should make this a KageHina fic. It would be nothing extreme or M rated, but it would thicken the plot a bit in future chapters. If you have an opinion on this, then please leave a review to let me know, what you want.**

 **Also, future chapters will not follow the cannon story as closely as these do, but will still follow it.**

 **Shoutout to godess bubbles who appreciated my KnB reference in the first chapter. You Rock!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

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King of the Court

Kageyama was lying on his bed tossing a ball up and down. An action he'd found himself doing, whenever he wanted to think for a while. A shame he couldn't do this when taking a test, maybe it would improve his grades? But this wasn't about grades or academics, this was about his first day at Karasuno and, mainly, his first day in the Volleyball Club and Kageyama couldn't exactly say that his first day had gone as planned.

He was in the same school as Hinata alright, but he was starting to see how even that might be a complication. He'd been so caught up in wanting be on the same team as Hinata that'd he'd completely forgotten how bad he was at Volleyball. Kageyama was disappointed in himself for believing that he'd somehow improved drastically over the span of just a few months, when he clearly came from a school that didn't even have a Volleyball team with six members, let alone a coach. And then there was also the fact that he'd never actually held a conversation with Hinata, on friendly terms at least, and after hanging out with the guy for just a few minutes, it became clear to him that they did not get along. He wasn't sure what the exact problem was, but if he had to explain it, he'd probably say that they just weren't on the same wavelength.

And these were just the beginning of Kageyama's problems. Over the span of just ten minutes, Kageyama had somehow gotten himself into a one-on-one with Hinata, then managed to hit to the dean in the face, thus resulting his wig to come flying off and, miraculously, land on the head of the Volleyball team's Captain, got yelled at by said Captain, then rejected from the club until Saturday, where he was forced to play with Hinata to win a three-on-three match against some other first years and, lastly, he was told that he couldn't play Setter unless he won the match. Yeah, not exactly how he had imagined the first day to go. But he couldn't change what had happened, his only choice was to look ahead to the upcoming match, which he had to win, he couldn't be on a team where he couldn't play Setter, even if it was just for a year.

After having thought about it for awhile, Kageyama concluded that there was no way he'd ever win on Saturday, if Hinata didn't learn how to receive properly. After all, how could Kageyama do a set-up if he had first touch. No, I'd have to be either Hinata or Tanaka, who had to receive and then he could just toss to Tanaka.

Kageyama looked at the clock and decided that if were to meet up with Hinata at five o'clock the next morning, he'd have to go to sleep now.

Kageyama found that he couldn't quite keep Hinata out of his head, even is his dreams.

* * *

The following morning Kageyama practised receives with Hinata, whilst Tanaka, and later Sugawara, was watching on the sidelines. At first Hinata was silently going along with it and slowly, very slowly, improved, but after about an hour, he started complaining and wanted to switch to spike practise, which Kageyama refused. There was no way he'd toss to him until he could receive solidly. Though Hinata kept complaining, it soon got time for them to leave the gym and pretend as if they'd never been there. Then came school, which Kageyama mostly spend sleeping, and then it quickly turned to lunch break.

Kageyama was walking to the vending machine near the gym to get some milk, when...

"Hinata," _Sugawara's voice_ "Why are you so competitive with Kageyama? I can practice with you and you won't have to compete with someone like him."

Kageyama thought about that statement for a while. Was Hinata competitive with him? Wasn't he just... annoying in general? He didn't get much more time to think, when Hinata answered.

"During our game in Middle School... No matter what Kageyama did, he was good at it... He was always somewhere above me... He was really strong... When I see him standing in front of me, I just get pissed off. That's why I came to Karasuno wanting to beat Kageyama..."

Kageyama was feeling a little torn between taking what Hinata had said as a compliment or feeling a bit ashamed that he'd directly taking away Hinata's chance of trying to defeat him, at least in a official match. However, more than any of this, Kageyama was curious. Hinata seemed to act completely different with Sugawara than with him. The only question was just, was it because Sugawara was different or because Kageyama was different?

"Are you playing Volleyball so you can defeat Kageyama?" Sugawara's question caught Kageyama's attention. _What was Hinata's goal?_

It seemed that Hinata couldn't quite answer the question, but..

"...I want to... be as strong as someone who can beat Kageyama. Then I can definitely play against other strong opponents on equal footing! I won't lose so easily! I don't want to lose anymore!"

Ah, what a simple reason and, yet, it was the same reason Kageyama fought. Who wanted to lose? No one! And beating strong opponents meant that you could win. Even if he and Hinata didn't get along, they could at least agree on aa few things. Kageyama was about to leave, when Sugawara continued.

"In other words. In Hinata's mind, Kageyama holds the position of 'The Strongest Player', because for you, he's the 'Strongest Enemy', but now, he's become the 'Strongest Ally'."

Kageyama really left after that and never heard Hinata's response, but all through-out the afternoon classes, he thought about Sugawara's words. _Strongest Ally._ Those words had been aimed at Hinata, not him, but wasn't that the reason why Kageyama had gone to Karasuno? To find the person, whom he could toss to, knowing that he had the ability to spike them. To no longer lose. To find Hinata and make him his strongest ally. Hinata certainly had the talent, he hadn't been wrong on that front, but now that he wasn't surrounded by complete beginners, it was even easier to see Hinata's lack of technique. Kageyama sighed. He could feel the long days ahead.

* * *

The following days were mainly spent on Volleyball practise with Hinata. Two hours in the morning and about four hours after school. Of course Hinata also practised with Sugawara during lunch break, but Kageyama pretended not to know that. It seemed that Hinata was improving at an impossibly slow rate and Kageyama was truly beginning to doubt his choice of school.

It was Thursday morning and Hinata finally seemed to have gotten his act together. He'd been receiving for fifteen minutes without even dropping the ball once, but Kageyama could clearly see that he was still lacking. It was mostly due to his insane agility that he'd been able to receive most of the balls and because of his crazy, unnatural stamina that he was able to keep going without his body collapsing, but, even, Hinata would run out of energy at some point and Kageyama predicted that that was about time.

"You might be at your limit!" Kageyama declared "You won't be able to take this any longer-"

"The ball hasn't dropped yet!" Hinata yelled between pants and gasps. Hinata's little outburst caught Kageyama off guard for a second and he, accidentally, hit the ball with too much force, making it impossible for Hinata to get it. Or so he thought. Hinata leapt forwards, chasing the ball like there was no tomorrow and, for Kageyama, the two seconds it took for Hinata to catch up to the ball and get it back to Kageyama, felt like an eternity. And in that eternity Kageyama realized something. Hinata did not posses overwhelming skill or technique. He was short and played in a sport that required height. He wasn't weak, but he wasn't particularly strong either. And Hinata was perfectly aware of all this.

Kageyama concluded that Hinata had four outstanding abilities. The first one was agility. Hinata sometimes seemed like he didn't have any bones in his body. He could move everyone of his limbs in weird angles, which enabled him to receive almost impossible balls without moving his feet. The second ability one was speed. Hinata could make it from one end of the court to the other in the blink of an eye and it seemed like second nature to him. The third was jumping power. Hinata had to have some serious power in those short legs of his or maybe all his muscle was just concentrated in his legs and the rest of his body was just light as a feather, who could know? The fourth ability of Hinata's was different. It wasn't as visible to see as the other three, but it was definitively the strongest of his abilities. An overwhelming power to cling to victory. To do everything in his might to achieve it and push himself beyond human limits.

As the ball went up Kageyama realized that this really had been the right choice. Hinata would become his strongest ally and for that he would grant him a wish. A toss. Kageyama didn't once look to where Hinata was, even when he heard Tanaka say that he was too tired to spike the ball, because he knew that Hinata would spike it. For the simple reason that spiking it would mean victory. And, boy, did Hinata look happy when he spiked that ball. His entire face lit up like the sun and it was like his entire being sent out a wave of warmth and satisfaction, filling the entire gym with a pleasant atmosphere. Kageyama couldn't help but smile too.

Although Hinata had spiked it perfectly, he now looked close to passing out right then and there, but, nonetheless, Kageyama wanted to tell Hinata that they should work together and achieve victory together. Although, he'd never really been one with words.

"...Hey" Kageyama started, not quite knowing where he was going with this, "On Saturday, let's win it."

* * *

Kageyama and Hinata were, once again, doing receive practise. The concentration Hinata had had the previous morning, seemed to have completely vanished and he also seemed to have forgotten that he had legs and feet attached to his body, something Kageyama did not hesitate too point out over and over again. Hinata also seemed extremely distracted by his own thoughts, which once in a while, let to Hinata taking a ball to the face.

"Oi, Concentrate," Kageyama yelled after Hinata had taken the twentieth ball to the face, "The three-on-three match is tomorrow!"

"I kn- I know that!" Hinata answered, rubbing his sore face, "Tomorrow we'll win! They'll let me in the gymnasium! And I can really get started on club activities! Oh, and I guess if we win, they'll have to let you play setter or something."

"If you understand, then get concentrating!"

"I wonder what sort of guys we'll be facing. It's probably better than playing against the Senpai, huh?"

"It doesn't matter what kind of guys we're up against. We have no choice but to win." There was no way in hell anybody was stopping Kageyama from playing Setter. It would be like stopping a bird from flying. It was taking away something essential. It was unnatural.

Kageyama and Hinata kept practising, even when the sun started setting and their only source of light was a single street lamp. It was then that Kageyama sent the ball to Hinata and it looked like he would be receiving it perfectly, when someone caught the ball just above Hinata's head.

"Huh, they are really practising outside!" The guy raised the ball above his head and looked down at Hinata, "Are you guys the first years who caused problems on the first day?" Neither Kageyama nor Hinata answered his question, but when Hinata reached for the ball, the guy just held it above his head, making Hinata unable to reach it... without his jumps that is.

"Give that back" Hinata yelled pointlessly and the guy just raised the ball higher. Kageyama got a good look at him. He was tall, taller than him and any other person on the Volleyball team. He was blond, had glasses and a really annoying smug look on his face, which made Kageyama instantly hate him.

"Isn't it about time for elementary students to be heading home?" He mocked Hinata, who just got even more annoyed.

"Who the heck are you?!" Hinata cried out, when he'd finally given up on trying to retrieve the ball from the blond four-eyes.

"The other first years intending to join the club?" Kageyama guessed coming to stand behind Hinata. "How tall are you?"

"Tsukki is 188 cm! That's almost 190 cm!" The other guy bragged as if 'Tsukki' being so tall somehow made him cooler. This other guy was tall too, but not as tall as the blond dude. He had freckles and unruly hair that made him seem a lot less intimidating than his friend. Or maybe it was because he was comparing them? Kageyama faintly heard the tall one tell his friend off for bragging, when the attention was turned to Kageyama.

"You're Kageyama from Kitagawa Daiichi, aren't you? Why is one of the elite attending Karasuno?" The mocking tone that he was using made Kageyama want to punch him through a wall, but before he could even do as much as give a retort, Hinata interrupted.

"Oi! Tomorrow, we definitely won't lose!" At first Kageyama thought that the tall guy would tell Hinata that he had no chance of winning, because of his height or simply because they were better than them, but instead...

"Ah, right. I don't know if it's an important match for you guys, but for us there's more of a 'well, whatever' feeling. We're not hung up on winning or losing, so if it'll be troublesome for you guys to lose..." He crooked his head slightly to the side, smiled and with his lightest, most annoying voice said: "How about we throw the game for you?"

That seemed to set off both Kageyama and Hinata, who just threw a fit. Kageyama was slightly suspecting that the tall guy was just saying whatever he needed to say to piss them off as much as possible, but he also got the feeling that his attitude towards Volleyball was no act and that got Kageyama really pissed.

"Whether you throw the game or go all out, the fact that I am going to win won't change."

"Haha! That's some confidence. Just what you'd expect of a 'king'." _That nickname!_

"Oi, quit it with-"

"Oh, so it's true!" _What was he on about?_ "The rumour that you dislike being called 'The King of the Court'. It's fine, isn't it? 'King' is a cool nickname! I think it fits you perfectly, 'your highness'!"

"What the hell is with you?" Kageyama demanded, when...

"I saw the prefecture semifinals." Kageyama's brain stopped working. He hadn't thought about that match, since he'd chosen to attend Karasuno. He'd locked all memories of the game away, into a dark and hidden place in the back of his mind, but _this guy!_ He just had to be someone who knew about it. And he didn't just stop by letting him know that he knew. He fucking continued.

"With such self-centered tosses, the rest of the team sure tolerated a lot. That would have been impossible for me... Ah! I guess what happened was because they couldn't tolerate it anymore either." Kageyama felt like he was reliving the same terrifying moment over and over again and grabbed the tall guy by his collar to vent and, hopefully, forget. He had no words for the guy, he was just so angry, he could feel his blood boiling. And the guy just did nothing. He just stood there with his annoying smirk, looking like he was better than him.

Kageyama let him go and decided to leave. He could faintly hear Hinata calling out to him, but his voice wasn't reaching him anymore. Not even the annoying four-eyes' words got to him, but it seemed like Hinata was finally fed up with him and started shouting something. Kageyama was going to leave, but decided to take one final look, just to see what Hinata was up to and he was glad that he did. The satisfaction he felt in the moment he turned around completely overwhelmed the feeling of anger that had filled him just seconds ago. Hinata had jumped for the ball, just as the tall guy had tossed it up in the air, and had caught it just when it reached it's highest point. And the look on the guy's face was priceless.

"Shut up with all that 'king' and 'your highness' stuff! I'm here too!" Hinata was now clutching the ball tightly to his chest as if afraid someone was going to take it away from him again. "I'm gonna hit the ball above that head of yours in tomorrow's match!"

Kageyama was, momentarily, proud of Hinata for standing up to the guy, who was roughly thirty centimetres taller than him and, easily, someone who scared Hinata. The feeling stopped, when Hinata backed off and started stuttering useless threats.

"Don't be so angry~ Let's be fair, have fun and not go overboard. It's just club activities after all." This guy was just continuing to piss Hinata off, but Kageyama was still in awe after Hinata's little stunt, so he didn't even care anymore.

The two guys turned to leave, when Hinata repeated what he had asked when they'd first interrupted their practise. "Who the heck are you guys?!"

"First year, class four, Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi. Starting tomorrow, we're teammates." Of course, he couldn't leave without a last sneaky remark, "Ah, we'll be opponents tomorrow, though. I'm looking forward to seeing the 'King's Toss'." And with that they finally left.

Hinata and Kageyama was left in the aftermath of the whole ordeal, slowly processing the fact that this Tsukishima guy was going to be on their team. When they finally snapped out of it, they decided to just keep practising, silently promising each other victory.

* * *

That night Kageyama was lying on his bed, thinking. Something he'd found himself doing quite a lot recently. Tomorrow they were going to play Tsukishima and he was about ninety-nine percent sure that they, yes _they_ , would win. Both he and Hinata were extremely determined to win against Tsukishima, just to get back at him. Forget letting Kageyama play setter and finally being accepted into the gym. This was about pride.

Kageyama closed his eyes, wanting to sleep, and quickly opened them again. Tsukishima had really brought back some terrible memories and every time he closed his eyes, images from that terrifying match seemed to flow in and he had no control over them. Kageyama could feel his breath and heartbeat quickening and tried his best to think of something else, but no matter what he thought about, the game always came back. He thought of Volleyball and an image of a ball falling onto an empty court appeared. He thought of his new team and he saw his previous team rejecting him. He thought of school and he could hear the whispers of 'king' and 'dictator' mocking him endlessly. Kageyama was finding it hard to breathe and curled up into himself, clutching at his chest, trying his best to regain control, but to no vain.

It had been awhile, since he'd felt like this. And he hated it. Kageyama had no control over his mind and body, which scared him even more and just send him into and endless spiral of fear and chaos. His mind had even stopped restricting itself to that one match and he now was reliving all of his middle school matches in reversed order. But even those where they came out victorious were painted black and frightful. It was rejection after rejection. Mistakes after mistakes. Opponent after opponent. Everything was black, painful and terrifying... And then Hinata. Hinata who jumped to spike every toss, no matter how difficult or impossible. Hinata who was defying the laws of gravitation with his jumps. Hinata who was talented and passionate. Hinata who was on his team. Hinata wanted to spike _his_ tosses. Hinata. Kageyama was finally calming down and sleep quickly took it's hold on his tired mind.

That night Kageyama dreamt of a small orange crow.

* * *

 **I hoped you like this second chapter of my fic. Just to let you know, Tsukishima is actually one of my favorite characters and I have plans for him later on in the story, so if you're a Tsukki fan like me, don't fret, I'll make it up to you.**

 **In case you didn't read the introduction, then please leave a review telling me whether or not you want this to turn into a KageHina fic or not. Or you could just leave a review if you liked the chapter. Either way, thank you for reading :D**


	3. Smiles & Sunshine

**To make up for not uploading last week, this chapter is slightly longer than the last two chapters. The Kagehina question from last chapter is still up in the air, so please give your thoughts on whether or not you want this fic to have Kagehina in it.**

 **At the moment I'm keeping the story platonic, though it's safe to say that Kageyama is slightly obessesed with Hinata, but how far from canon is that really?**

 **I will be back to posting every Friday, so the wait will not be as long as this one.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

* * *

 _~Smiles & Sunshine~_

Kageyama woke up with a smile on his face. He couldn't remember his dream, just that it had been pleasant and he'd felt like flying. His body was well rested and, apart from the fact that he was hungry, he felt the best he'd had in a while. And he had no school and a match today! It really couldn't get any better. His mother also seemed to notice his good mood, when he came for breakfast and asked for the occasion. Kageyama just brushed it off as a nice day, since he couldn't really explain it. He was in such good mood that he even found himself humming whilst packing his bag and going to the gym. It was a nice day with only a few clouds floating about and the still rising sun was painting the sky a slight orange. Even though it was still April, it was quite a warm day and Kageyama was glad that he'd left early, so he could take his time walking to the gym.

He'd almost reached the school grounds, when he heard a yell behind him and he didn't even get to look behind him, when Hinata's figure flew past him. Even more than enjoying the nice weather and atmosphere, he loved competing and he loved competing against Hinata, because in those competitions, Kageyama had realized, he enjoyed both winning and losing, however weird that may sound. Kageyama enjoyed winning a lot, he was a very competitive being after all, but he found that losing to Hinata wasn't all that bad. Because Hinata would always smile so brightly and his eyes would beam with happiness and Kageyama enjoyed seeing Hinata like that. It even felt like he hadn't lost at all, because seeing Hinata so happy was a win in and of itself. He briefly wondered if Hinata always smiled so brightly when he won or if it was just because he beat Kageyama, whom he'd seen as rival. Kageyama concluded that it didn't really matter, since, either way, he'd always be the one to enjoy Hinata's happiness.

Kageyama's good mood completely erased the question of why he was so attached to Hinata, when he'd only known him, _really known him,_ for a few days.

They were racing to the gym and Kageyama could feel his energy being drained, but Hinata had good lead and if Hinata was to win, Kageyama wasn't about to let it be a big one. So he ran to his hearts content and managed to catch up at just the right moment, which ended the race in a draw and both of them panting on the ground. Though Kageyama was no longer visibly smiling, like he'd been earlier, he was still extremely happy. Tanaka, who had been about to enter the gym quickly told them off for spending energy just before the match, but there wasn't much he could do about it now.

"Damn it. It was a draw," Hinata puffed from his place at the ground. He was lying face down in the dirt, so Kageyama couldn't see his face, but he could hear the annoyance in his voice. Had he been more like Hinata, he would have giggled, maybe even laughed, but he wasn't so he just continued to annoy Hinata... for his own amusement.

"I won't ever lose to the likes of you," he said between pants and eyed Hinata, wanting to see he'd respond, since you could never really know with him. He was unpredictable after all.

"But!" Hinata exclaimed as he pushed himself off of the ground, taking another few deep breaths and then looked Kageyama directly in the eyes, "Today, you and I are gonna win!"

Kageyama was not at all taken aback at Hinata's little declaration, because first of all, it was true. They were going to win and secondly, Hinata was the most victory hungry person Kageyama had ever encountered and he'd been at the same school as Oikawa Tooru, which said a lot. Kageyama stood up, in synch with Hinata, if he might add.

"Let's get ready" _to win._

Kageyama, Hinata and Tanaka were beginning their warm-up, when Tsukishima and Yamaguchi entered the gym and Kageyama chose to ignore them completely. The damn four-eyes was not going to ruin his good mood. Almost twenty minutes went by as the two teams did their warm-up and the other club members slowly showed up. At some point the Captain declared that he'd be on Tsukishima's team which Hinata questioned very loudly. At this point Tsukishima decided to start verbally looking down on his opponent, but this time Kageyama saw it more as a tactic to psych out his opponent, which Kageyama had learnt to ignore. He faintly caught the words _crush, short_ and _king,_ but he didn't really care. Tanaka, on the other hand, was very aware of Tsukishima's shameless bashing and responded with a declaration of war.

The match started and Tanaka was very quick to score the first point, spiking right past Tsukishima's block. It was safe to say that Tanaka was very passionate on this particular day and Kageyama didn't quite know how to respond to it, so he just completely ignored it and let the other second-years handle their unruly team mate.

Kageyama decided to let Hinata spike the next ball and secure the second point, but Hinata, who had looked so happy when Kageyama had tossed the ball to him, was completely shut down by Tsukishima's block. And this was not the last time. Hinata continued to be blocked by Tsukishima and Kageyama could feel Hinata's frustration as he, time and time again, hit the tall wall standing between him and victory. The frustration was starting to take a grip on Kageyama as well and the good mood from the morning was almost completely gone now. He'd clearly been underestimating Tsukishima, thinking that he'd be nothing but height and sassy remarks, but of course not. Tsukishima was an extremely intelligent player and tactfully coordinated his blocks to match Hinata's jumps as well as Kageyama's tosses. _How annoying_.

"C'mon, I'm just gonna keep blocking it, y'know?" Tsukishima teased Kageyama, "You should go ahead and use the king's toss." _'King' again!_

"Even if I can't attack with speed, " Kageyama replied picking up the fallen ball, "I'll still win."

The match then continued and not only did Tsukishima get the chance to prove himself in the match. The Captain made a perfect receive to Kageyama's jump serve, clearly showing his experience and devoted practice to the sport. After Kageyama's serve was stopped, Tsukishima, once again, took the opportunity to mock him.

"C'mon, your highness! Shouldn't you start getting serious soon?"

Kageyama didn't even get to process Tsukishima's words, because, for some reason, Hinata was even more agitated than Kageyama.

"What the heck's with you? You've been at this since yesterday! What the hell is the king's toss?"

Kageyama felt his heart drop. It wasn't like his Middle School habits were a secret, everyone in the room knew about it. Everyone except Hinata and Kageyama would have liked to keep it that way. The conversation continued without Kageyama even trying to stop it.

"Do you know why this guy is called 'the King'?"

"Isn't it because he's really good and guys from other schools are scared of him?"

"Haha... I think there are definitely guys who feel that way though." Tsukishima said, almost cheerfully, "Rumour says that the nickname 'King of the Court' was given to him by the guys of Kitagawa Daiichi. It means a selfish, egoistical king. A tyrannical dictator.

"That's just a rumour I heard once, but after watching _that_ game, I was in full agreement. He took oppressiveness to such an extreme in that decisive match that he was forcefully benched." Tsukishima turned to Kageyama, "... And you can't use that quick strike anymore, because that decisive match left you scared, right?"

Kageyama found that he couldn't disagree with Tsukishima. He vaguely heard Tanaka yelling at Tsukishima, but Kageyama had, in the midst of this mess, found that he was strangely at peace. And Hinata was right there and he deserved to know the truth, so Kageyama decided to tell him.

"That's right. Tossing the ball up only for no one to be behind me frightens me down to my very soul."

Silence. More silence. And-

"But that's a story about Middle School, right?" Hinata was looking at him with his big eyes and an innocent look on his face, making Kageyama forget how to breathe and just stare back at him in awe, "Since you toss the ball to me properly and all, that stuff doesn't really matter to me."

Hinata turned to Tsukishima, "The only problem is how we're gonna knock you down!" And he was back to Kageyama, "We're gonna win against Tsukishima and start club activities for real, and you'll be Setter, fair and square! And then you can toss to me! Is there anything else to it?" _Why do you make everything seem so simple, you dumbass._ Kageyama was almost annoyed with him. But only almost.

"That sort of 'genuine, straight foreword' emotion truly irritates me," Tsukishima said quietly as he turned his back to them, "You can't fill the gap in height with fighting spirit. If you think you'll get by on effort alone, you're gravely mistaken." Kageyama was almost certain that that was not directed towards Hinata.

They continued the game and it was, once again, time for Kageyama to toss the ball to one of the Spikers. They both called out for a toss, but Hinata had no chance against Tsukishima, so it had to be-

"Kageyama!" He held his breath and looked behind him. Hinata was already there, ready to spike, only waiting for Kageyama, "I'm here!"

In this moment, Kageyama was no king, the king was someone else. As if by command, he tossed the ball to Hinata, not knowing if it was his will or Hinata's. But it didn't matter, because Hinata was there. Hinata had given the order, which Kageyama could only obey and give a toss worthy of a king.

The almost magical moment was completely ruined when Hinata barely made a successful spike and seemed, out of all the people there, the most surprised that he'd spiked it, even though he was the one who initiated it.

"You can't just-" Kageyama started, wanting to scold Hinata for suddenly stealing the toss.

"But I was right there to receive the ball! I don't care about any of that stuff from Middle School! For me, no matter what kind of toss it is, it's one that that I really want to receive! I'll jump anywhere! I'll hit any kind of ball, so keep on tossing it my way!" _Yes, your highness._

The next couple of minutes were extremely hectic. Hinata proved to be even more ignorant than he'd first thought. For someone who was really pinned on becoming the ace of a Volleyball team, he knew horrifyingly little about the sport. Tanaka suggested attacking with quicks, which Kageyama declined as he and Hinata were not in synch, yet, and it would therefore be impossible to time a quick strike. He then changed his mind after another argument between Tsukishima and Hinata, because he really wanted to prove Tsukishima wrong as he somehow thought that Hinata had no value. He then tried to explain how their quick was going to work, but it seemed that Hinata couldn't comprehend how quick it was going to be, as he continuously got the timing wrong.

Kageyama was constantly telling Hinata to move faster, because he knew he had the ability to do it, but it didn't seem to work.

"Kageyama. You're doing the same as in Middle School," Sugawara said almost sadly as he picked up the ball, which Hinata had failed to hit... again.

"Hinata excels in mobility, reflexes and speed... And in addition, he has jumping power... If he gets used to it, he could even pull off a quick attack..." Kageyama countered, this was not the same as Middle School.

"Hinata's weapon, that nimbleness of his... isn't it being diminished by your toss?" _What do you mean,_ went unsaid, but Sugawara answered anyway, "Hinata doesn't have technique or experience," _True,_ "The team you were barely able to bring together in Middle School had far from excellent players. But the raw material was top quality... With your skills... How do I put this? More of Hinata's character or ability or whatever you'd call it will... It'd be more like... erm.. It's like he'll be somehow be better at using it, wouldn't he?

"Your senses and ball control is better than anyone else! And above all... You calmly see through the opposing blockers' movements and make decisions accordingly. For you who have technique, probably more than enough willingness, and above all... 'excellent eyes which see everything around you', there is no way you can't see your comrades!"

If Kageyama were to be totally honest, he would admit that he did not understand a word that Sugawara had just said. At first it had something about reverting to how he acted in Middle School, but somewhere along the speech, yes it was a speech, it has turned into his and Hinata's talents and... something about using them right? Kageyama was thoroughly confused. Was he supposed to combine his and Hinata's abilities? Wasn't that what the quick did? Hinata used his speed and jumping power, while Kageyama tossed the ball to him... Wait! Kageyama was pretty sure he had observed Hinata well enough to know his full extent of his abilities, and taking fatigue and mental strength into consideration, he'd probably be able to predict exactly how fast he could run and how high he could jump. If Hinata just escaped the blockers without trying to synch with Kageyama, then Kageyama could toss to him and they'd get past the blockers...

It seemed impossible, Kageyama was pretty confident as a Setter, but pinpointing a toss to that extent, could he do it? Should he just go for it? He looked at Hinata, who looked as confused as he felt. _I'm here._

"I am jealous of your physical ability!" Kageyama told Hinata, who just looked extremely shocked by the words. Kageyama could kind of understand why, as Hinata did see him as someone really good, but that didn't matter right now, "That's why I'll have you show me all of your ability!"

"...What?"

"At your fastest speed, run to where there are no blockers and jump your highest jump! You don't have to watch the ball, I'll bring it to you!"

Hinata looked bewildered, "If I don't look at the ball, I might just spike thin air!"

"Probably!" Kageyama said, he wasn't going to lie. He really had no idea if this was going to work at all. "But I want to give it a try."

The match resumed and Kageyama was blocking out everything that wasn't Hinata and the ball. He didn't need to see anything else. The blockers where irrelevant. Tanaka was irrelevant. He was irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was getting the ball to Hinata.

The ball had been received and was coming towards him. Hinata had already started moving and Kageyama got ready to toss the ball just as Hinata jumped. He quickly calculated what speed and angle to use to successfully toss the ball right to where Hinata would swing his arm. And then he tossed and almost immediately after, the ball was slammed down onto the floor on the opposite side of the net. They'd done it.

Kageyama was impressed with both himself and Hinata. He'd never actually thought that it would work and this was their first attempt too. Hinata seemed just as impressed as he looked as his hand like it had superpowers! Then the Captain said something, which grabbed everyone's attention.

"Oi, just now, Hinata had his eyes closed..."

The synchronised 'What' from Tsukishima, Tanaka and Kageyama echoed through the gymnasium. Hinata who had been completely ignoring them suddenly turned to Kageyama and put his hand so close to his face that he could see where the ball hit his hand.

"Hey! What was that just now? I hit it though! With my hand! Just now! I hit it! Hey!"

"Oi! Why did you close your eyes!" Kageyama was so in shock that he no longer cared that the quick had worked.

"You said: 'Don't look at the ball' didn't you? If my eyes are open, I'll watch it no matter what, so"

"That might be true, but is it usually possible to trust someone 100% like that?"

"But right now I have no choice but to trust you!"

Kageyama was speechless. Everything Hinata did, everything Hinata stood for was so different from anything he'd ever experienced before. Someone like Hinata should annoy someone like Kageyama. They should be like oil and water, but somehow Kageyama was drawn to Hinata and he felt an overwhelming desire to follow Hinata's example and trust him 100%, but... He was still hesitating. Maybe one day?

The rest of the match was a blur. Kageyama concentrated on sending Hinata the perfect tosses, but it was a lot harder to do a second time... and a third time, but even when Hinata jumped into the net and Kageyama tossed the ball into his face, Hinata still closed his eyes. He could feel himself improving though and he was set on having it work at least one more time before the set ended, hopefully with their victory, and it did. Hinata was just as ecstatic about hitting the ball this time as he had been the first time and this time Kageyama joined him in celebration.

The second set was a whole lot more successful and the quick worked almost every time. The game was a close one, since the Captain's receives were well above average and Tsukishima was not only a good blocker, but also a clever player. In the end Tanaka, Hinata and Kageyama managed to win two sets in a row, which was all they could have wished for.

At some point Hinata dragged Kageyama with him to shake hands with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, because _'You're supposed to do that before and after a match!'_. Though Kageyama didn't really care, Hinata really did and Tsukishima seemed liked shaking hands was the last thing he wanted to do, so by principle, Kageyama was on Hinata's side just to piss off Tsukishima. Kageyama was proud to say that they succeeded.

Shortly after that little incident, Tanaka made a very loud and weird noise. The very beautiful manager had entered the gym and with her, she had brought the official Volleyball Club jackets for the first-years. It wasn't much later that someone else came into the gym, though much less graceful than Shimizu had entered. This person was small of stature, had messy hair and big glasses, which made his face seem smaller than it was. He was not wearing a school uniform and he also seemed a little too old to be a student, but then again he didn't seem like an adult either, but that didn't matter, because of the news he brought.

"We're competing! It's all set up! A practice match! The opponent is one of the prefecture's best four, Aoba Jousai!"

The reactions the message got were wildly different, but nobody seemed disheartened by that fact that they were going up against a powerhouse. What a relief that was to Kageyama.

"Ah!" The person looked directly at Hinata and Kageyama, "So you two are the problematic Hinata-kun and Kageyama-kun! Starting this year I'm the Volleyball Club's advisor, Takeda Ittetsu!" _So he is a teacher..._

The teacher then proceeded to talk to the Captain and then revealed to them that Seijoh had a condition for playing them.

"Kageyama-kun will act as setter for the entire game."

* * *

Kageyama felt kind of bad for stealing Sugawara's spot as Setter, when he'd hardly proved his worth … yet. Then again, it wasn't his fault that their shot at a practice match with Seijoh was if he played Setter and he had promised Sugawara that he would only play Setter, when he earned the spot.

The match was also perfectly timed, as it gave Kageyama and Hinata an opportunity to try out the quick strike on other opponents than their team mates, who had been there, when they had developed it. He was looking forward to it. But at the same time he was dreading it.

Seijoh was the school where most players from Kitagawa Daiichi went and this of course included Kindaichi and Kunimi, whom he couldn't exactly say that he had parted with on good terms. There had been shouting and, if Kunimi hadn't been there, Kageyama was sure that either he himself or Kindaichi would have started an all out fight. But now wasn't the time to be remembering bad memories, he had to focus on the upcoming match and... Oikawa.

It was common for players to feel nervous before a match, especially against a strong school, but Kageyama usually handled those kind of nerves pretty well. It was just that Oikawa was different. Not only was he a strong Setter and over-all player. He was also someone whom Kageyama deeply admired, which somehow made him very uneasy. There was also the fact that he'd never played against Oikawa. Sure he'd never played against Kindaichi or Kunimi either, but they did not have Oikawa's skills.

Kageyama wanted nothing more than to get all of the nerves out of his body and the best way to do that was sleep. Kageyama would later find that his nerves would not return as a certain oranged haired Middle Blocker would be taking up all of his time with his own nervousness.

* * *

 _About 3 Months Earlier_

It was the official last day in the Volleyball Club for the current third-years of Kitagawa Daiichi. The third years were done thanking their coach and their Kohai for everything that they had done for them and were now giving back their uniforms. Kageyama had originally thought that giving back his uniform would be hard as he would now be forced to start all over and work his way up to a position of regular on a new team. It wasn't at all. Kageyama was embracing the change and wanted nothing more than a new uniform and a new team. Leaving everything behind was ideal, but it seemed that he wasn't allowed to do that, as he was literally pushed into a hallway by what he wanted to forget.

"Kunimi, myself and a few others have already decided that we are going to Aoba Jousai, what about you?" Kindaichi was looking at Kageyama like he would punch him if he moved. Kunimi, who stood behind Kindaichi, looked unusually alert, probably because he didn't want a fight to break out.

"I don't know yet, but definitely not Seijoh. My goal is to defeat Oikawa-san... and you."

"Don't you get all cocky! If anyone's going to be defeated it's you! Do you think that anyone will follow a first-year dictator? Any smart school will not let you play as a regular, unless they had no other choice!"

"If you had just used your abilities to the fullest it would never have turned out like it did!"

"What?! So suddenly it's our fault? You think that we never did our best!"

"I know you didn't! Nanaba-Senpai was the proof of that!" Kageyama had grabbed hold of Kindaichi's shirt and was now pushing him against the wall

"Guys don't fight..." Kunimi tried, but Kindaichi shouted at the same time, so he went unheard.

"Do not bring Nanaba-san into this! It was an accident!"

"An accident that could have been prevented if you had just paid better attention!"

"It was inevitable and you know it! The only reason you're blaming us is because you were Nanaba-san's favourite and you lost the only friend you've ever had on this team and you can't accept it!"

"What the hell kind of reason is that?"

"Guys! Stop!" Kunimi pushed Kageyama away from Kindaichi with as much strength as he could muster and stood between the two of them with his back to Kageyama, telling Kindaichi to calm down.

" _Your highness,_ " Kindaichi said mockingly, but the volume of his voice had considerably lowered, "Next time we meet will be in a match and we'll defeat you."

Kageyama was left alone in the hallway, silently promising that he would be the one to defeat them. No matter the cost.

* * *

 **Just to avoid any confusion that might occur. Nanaba is my own character, but fret not, he will not be a main character. I will say no more as that would go into spoiler territory.**

 **If you liked this chapter, then please Fave it and maybe leave a little sneaky review. Those are always appreciated :D**


	4. Nerves and a Libero

**A shorter chapter, but a lot less canon stuff, so that should make up for it. I'm going to keep the story platonic between Hinata and Kageyama, but I guess if you want, you can still pretend it's pre-Kagehina or just very subtle Kagehina, if you want to.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

* * *

 _~Nerves and a Libero~_

He should have known. He should have seen the signs. It fit his character so perfectly and wasn't this exactly how he'd acted when they had first met back in Middle School? Kageyama _really_ wanted to punch the shit out of Hinata. Where did all that nervousness even come from? The worst part of it was the fact that he didn't just get nervous right before the match, no! He was nervous a week, _a whole week,_ before the goddamn match. And it was only a practice match for crying out loud! He didn't even want to imagine what it would be like if this had been an official match Normally, another player's nerves and feelings would even come close to bothering Kageyama, but the fact of the matter was: Hinata was his partner, whether he liked it or not.

In the beginning it hadn't really hit Kageyama just how bad it was, but a few days before the match he and Hinata had stayed for self-practice. Kageyama had very casually brought up their upcoming practice match, trying to prepare Hinata for facing off against Kindaichi, but what had meant to be good advice completely backfired. Kageyama had said something along the lines of: _It's important that your jumps are at their best, cause he is quite tall,_ and Hinata just kind of... malfunctioned. He was supposed to run up to spike a toss, but he instantly tripped over his own feet and just slid across the floor face first. It would have been extremely funny, if it had just been that one time and it hadn't meant anything, but it did. Kageyama decided to give up practice as nothing was going well for them.

The next couple of days were just plain awful. If you took Hinata out of the equation, their team was actually doing pretty well in practice and the few mistakes they made were quickly corrected. It was just that Hinata found a way to screw up even the simplest things. Kageyama had very quickly noticed that Hinata wasn't constantly out of sorts, it was just whenever something that could relate to their upcoming match even in the slightest came up. Even small things like people saying that they were looking forward to playing would set Hinata off. At one point Tanaka had said something about looking forward to seeing the faces of Seijoh's players, when they used their special quick-strike and, only God could know how this happened, but Hinata had managed to jump directly into the net and, by some weird witchcraft, gotten himself stuck. It had taken three people and about ten minutes to get Hinata untangled, another ten minutes to calm him down and two people to prevent Kageyama from sending Hinata flying from one end of the gym to the other.

It was finally the day of the match and Kageyama was so mentally exhausted, because of Hinata that he had completely forgotten his own uneasiness, both of meeting his former teammates again and playing against Oikawa. He had silently hoped that Hinata would have used up all of his nervousness, but when Hinata threw up on Tanaka's lap, Kageyama had already accepted that nothing was going to go well.

Seijoh was big, probably about three or four times the size of Karasuno, and it was honestly a bit intimidating. Not that Kageyama would ever admit to something like that, it just crossed his mind that other people might feel that way.

Now, it hadn't been Kageyama's intention to walk with Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and Tanaka, it had just sort of happened. Maybe because he needed to get away from Hinata (who tended to avoid Tsukishima at all costs) and he knew none of them would start a conversation with him and he just felt like not interacting with anyone at the moment. Nonetheless, he was quite satisfied with his choice, when they came around a corner and were met with Kindaichi, whom Tanaka had caught down talking Karasuno. Tanaka had popped his head just around the corner and pulled his very creepy intimidation smile, while calmly threatening them:

"If you look down on us like that... We'll chew you up and spit you out!"

Kageyama had never seen Kindaichi look so frightened and Tanaka instantly jumped to favourite Senpai on Kageyama's non-existent list of Senpais. The king of trash talk, Tsukishima, added the icing on top of the cupcake, which made Kageyama feel like Tsukishima actually had a purpose that wasn't just height.

"You shouldn't intimidate them like that, Tanaka-san," Tsukishima falsely cheered, "Look, you've frightened those poor elites. I feel so sorry for them." Tsukishima was horrible person, when he was your enemy, but Kageyama would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy having him as an ally, if only just a bit.

This was the only break which Kageyama got from Hinata's annoying behaviour. As soon as he entered the gymnasium, Hinata was there looking white as a sheet, mumbling something that sounded like a crazy chant of some sort. Kageyama was actually so distracted by Hinata that it he never even noticed that Oikawa was absent from the match until the end of the first set, when Seijoh's setter apologized to Iwaizumi for a low toss. Kageyama was about to mention this to his team, when it was time for Hinata to serve. He decided to tell them later.

So, everyone, who was not Hinata and Kageyama, probably thought that him getting hit in the head by a Volleyball was the funniest thing that could have ever happened that day. Kageyama, being the victim of this, did not exactly agree. It was not so much the fact that he'd actually taken a serve to the head, it was more the implication of it. It was almost like the universe was against Kageyama ever having a solid opinion of Hinata. Whenever he looked down on him, Hinata proved him wrong and exceed all expectations Kageyama could ever have of him. This would have been great if it wasn't because he also failed to meet any expectations, when Kageyama thought of him as a player with immense talent.

He was so fucking done with Hinata acting this way that yelling could no longer express his anger. Hinata was very quick to sense Kageyama's fury and back away from him until he literally hit a wall, which meant that there was no way for him to escape Kageyama. At this point his face was like that of a ghost.

A threatening pep-talk, some Tanaka wisdom and a two sets later, Karasuno had managed to turn everything around and win against Seijoh. Although, it had been a Seijoh without Oikawa, but Kageyama could overlook the minor details. The victory had been very important for Kageyama, because it had reminded him why he had chosen Hinata in the first place, even though the first set had been a complete disaster. The joy Kageyama felt when Hinata spiked his toss as his old team stood frozen, unable to do anything to stop him, was indescribable and Kageyama could hardly contain himself.

Kageyama was standing, lost in thought, when Sugawara came up to him.

"Kageyama, Hinata has been gone for awhile and we're leaving soon, do you think you could find him?"

Not really thinking nor knowing how to ever decline a request from Sugawara, who was a literal angel in human form (This was what Tanaka had once said, not Kageyama), Kageyama did as told and went off to find Hinata, having a good idea as to where he would have gone.

* * *

Hinata was heading back to the team, when he realized that he had gotten lost in the endless corridors of Seijoh. As he wandered about, he got increasingly scared that Kageyama would get mad at him again, if he was late and made everybody wait for him. Kageyama being mad at him could mean that he wouldn't practice with him and what was he to do with out his partner. No! Hinata couldn't have Kageyama being mad at him. At least not anymore as Kageyama had been plenty mad at him already. Hinata's only problem was that no matter how much he wanted to get out of this maze, willpower did not solve his problem and after a few minutes he got worried.

"Are you lost, Chibi-chan?"

"Yes," Hinata said relieved that someone had found him, but then he realized, "Who are you?"

The person standing in front of him was undoubtedly a High School student, but he was certainly not from Seijoh. His uniform was light grey with a green tie, which Hinata couldn't recognize. The boy himself was taller than Hinata, but still not tall like Tsukishima. He had light brown hair that almost reached his shoulders and curled slightly at the ends. He had soft green eyes and a gentle face, which could rival Sugawara's motherly smiles. He was probably the type who could make both girls and boys fall for him simply by existing.

"I'm a Volleyball player just like you," he said with a soft voice.

"Really! What position do you play?"

"I'm a Libero."

"Uwa! I've never played with a Libero!"

"Weren't you lost, Chibi-chan? Want me to show you out?"

"Ah, thanks! By the way, my name is Hinata Shoyou." Hinata said not really wanting to be nicknamed as Chibi-chan.

"Hinata Shoyou-chan... You're quite the jumper. It's amazing that you're a Middle Blocker with your height."

"You watched the match?"

"Yes, I came to watch my Kohai play. It was a good match."

"Your Kohai?"

"Yes. Kindaichi, Kunimi, Kageyama and I used to play together, when we went to Kitagawa Daiichi. I was quite worried, when I heard that Kageyama had chosen a school were he didn't know anyone. He's always had hard time making friends, but it seems like you get along quite well with him."

"I don't know if you could say we get along well... I don't think Kageyama likes me at all," Hinata countered, a little bit confused as to how this person could think that he and Kageyama got along well. Kageyama literally did nothing but yell at him.

"Kageyama is a bit awkward, but he definitely doesn't dislike you. If he did, he wouldn't make such a effort of supporting you," the boy chuckled lightly.

Hinata tilted his head, "Effort of supporting me?"

"Well, Hinata-chan, you definitely have talent, but your still pretty lousy over-all." _Stab to the heart_ "If Kageyama didn't have your back, you'd be dragging your whole team down... Oh, it looks like we've made it outside. Do you think you can manage from here?"

"Ah, yes, thanks again," Hinata said starting to run off, but halting to ask: "What's your name?"

"Nanaba Takehiro."

* * *

As Hinata had somehow found his way back to the bus himself, Kageyama was the one who'd ended up being late. Since he couldn't blame Hinata for doing something right and not relying on Kageyama to find him, he just shrugged it of and apologized for being late. This was of course met by a few remarks by Tsukishima, but it was all soon forgotten, when everybody fell asleep on the ride back to Karasuno.

Deciding that they were both to tired to practice, Kageyama and Hinata both went home. Kageyama was almost home, when he got a message.

 _From: Nanaba Takehiro_

 _Subject: Chibi-chan_

 _Congrats on beating Seijoh. You really have come far since I last saw you. I think you and Chibi-chan make a good combo. Be careful not to scare him off ;P_

 _P.s. How's your head?_

Kageyama had to read the message a couple times until he was sure that he wasn't hallucinating. He had not heard from Takehiro since he had graduated from Middle School and after what had happened, he had never expected to hear from him again.

Kageyama had stopped walking and essentially just stopped working at this point. How was he supposed to reply. Should he pretend that _that incident_ had never occurred and just answer him as he would normally have done? Should he apologize? Should he thank him for watching the match, which was quite obvious that he had done? Kageyama really didn't know what to think. Takehiro's text showed no anger, but texts could be very deceiving. In the end Kageyama decided that it would be rude to not reply and in order to avoid any topics about the past, he just wrote about Hinata.

 _To: Nanaba Takehiro_

 _Subject: Headache_

 _I don't know if you could call it a_ good _combo, but his talent is too great to be wasted. Though he needs to get a grip on his serves, since I'm pretty sure I'm developing a headache._

* * *

Karasuno's guardian deity. That was what the Captain had called one of the missing members of Karasuno's Volleyball Club. At the time, Kageyama had not known what he had meant, but after spending just a few minutes with him, he understood. Nishinoya Yuu was a prodigy, when it came to defensive Volleyball and even though Kageyama had known his name for a couple of years due to the reputation of his great skills, he was still impressed. However, it wasn't just physical talent he possessed, Nishinoya also had the type of personality, which would never fail to raise the morale of his team. At the time Kageyama made this assumption, he didn't actually have anything to prove it, it was just that Nishinoya reminded him a lot of how Takehiro had been. They played the same position, had the same attitude and the same encouraging smile.

Kageyama already liked Nishinoya quite a lot.

* * *

 **I hope you liked the chapter despite the shortness of it. I'm not really used to putting OC's into my stories, so I'd like to know what you think of Nanaba so far? Again, he'd not going to play a major role, but he will have influence.**

 **Please leave a review and I'll blow you a kiss ;)**


	5. An Old Promise Fulfilled

**Sorry about the late update, but I've been super busy. That also means a shorter chapter, but a chapter nonetheless.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

* * *

 _~An Old Promise Fulfilled~_

It had been awhile since Kageyama had been this tired. He was partly convinced that he had walked from the school to his house in his sleep, because he could honestly not recall most of it. A week of training camp and a full day of practice matches against a strong school like Nekoma would do that to a person. He and Hinata had originally planned to practice some new attacks, so that they had other things that their special quick, but even Hinata had almost fallen asleep just talking about it, so they decided to meet early the next day.

"I'm home," Kageyama said as he entered the house. He kicked off his shoes, knowing that his mother would yell at him later, but he just couldn't be bothered at the moment.

"Tobio, do you want chicken or fish for dinner?" His mother called from the kitchen just as he was about to enter his room.

"I'm really tired so I'm not gonna eat din-"

"What!" She yelled, making Kageyama instantly regret his decision, "As an athlete you should know that it's important to eat dinner! I will ground you if eat less than me, so get in here and help prepare the chicken!"

"I thought you asked me if I wanted fish or chicken?" Kageyama sighed as he dragged his feet into the kitchen, hiding a yawn behind his hand.

"Well, you don't get a choice anymore and I want chicken."

Kageyama and his mother prepared the dinner, while she would ask questions about the training camp. The questions were mostly training based and she was particularly interested in their new coach, since Kageyama had told her that he had never had any previous experience in coaching.

It might be important to mention the fact that Kageyama's mother was a coach herself. She was the head coach of Nadeshiko Japan, which was Japan Women's National Football Team (1) and a few years ago, she had lead the team to victory in the World Championship. A fact that she would never let anyone forget and would use to get her way with almost anything.

"Are you getting along with you new team?" She asked suddenly, catching Kageyama off guard, causing him to stumble upon his words.

"Um, yeah, I guess, you could say, yeah..."

"It's important to get along with your team mates in a team sport. Besides, you shouldn't go your whole high school life not making any friends. Since Takehiro and Houjou don't attend Karasuno, you can't do with just them." She clasped her hands together, "That reminds me! Wouldn't you meet Houjou at tournaments? It would be neat if both your teams made it to nationals this year!"

"Mm, sure..."

"Aww, c'mon Tobio, don't be like that. Show me some spirit!"

Kageyama yawned.

Kageyama went straight to bed after dinner, fell asleep immediately and started dreaming.

* * *

 _About 7 years ago_

Kageyama was standing outside a public gymnasium, curiously looking at the older kids playing Volleyball. Today he was going to join this team and start playing Volley for real. The team were for all children who had yet to attend Middle School, where there'd be official clubs one could join. Kageyama still had four years until he started Middle School, so if he wanted to get good at Volley, he needed to attend this club, but... There were so many people and Kageyama couldn't find the courage to enter on his own.

"Are you going in? There'll probably be a lot of people today, so you want a good place to put your stuff, so you won't lose it." A voice from behind Kageyama asked.

Kageyama turned around to find a tall boy standing right behind him.

"Yes, um, are you a part of this club?" Kageyama asked, assuming this boy was a year older than him, since he was tall and seemed to know his way around things here.

"I'm actually joining today, but my brother used to go here, so I'm somewhat familiar with this place."

"How old are you?"

"I'm seven, but we should really get in, I can already see a big group coming soon."

Kageyama ended up following the boy around the entire time he was there. He even sat beside him, when their coach explained how things were going to work in the club. Apparently they would try playing all the positions for a month and then they would choose their position, when they found the one that they were most comfortable with. They would also be playing with children who weren't in their grade, so the younger players could learn from the more experienced players in the club. Of course, the club was mostly for fun and there was no extreme practice that would leave you panting on the floor, but for beginners, the task of just receiving a ball correctly was very challenging.

Kageyama ended up quickly befriended the boy, as they both found it hard to socialize with big groups and they therefore tended to drift towards one another. They were both passionate about Volleyball and though they didn't talk about anything else, Kageyama could easily say that he was closer to this boy than he had been with anyone else.

A few weeks after they had joined the club, Kageyama's friend got an admirer. It wasn't a girl who had a crush on him, but a boy who looked up to him. In the beginning, he just observed them from afar. He didn't have a problem talking to other people, he just seemed to be more interested in Kageyama's friend than the other friends he'd made in the club.

"You should probably talk to him," Kageyama told his friend one day before practice started

"Why? If he wants to talk to me, he can just talk to me."

"He's probably too shy. He looks away whenever you look in his direction."

"Really? I hadn't noticed. You're a good observer, Setter was probably a good choice for you."

"Yeah, well, ever since I was introduced to Volley, I always imagined myself as a Setter, so it was just a natural choice for me." Kageyama looked over his friends shoulder and noticed someone approaching, "Look he's coming over."

When the admirer came up to them, his cheeks flushed red instantly and without a word he held out a small box. None of them moved or spoke, which made everything really awkward after five seconds. The admirer seemed notice this and explained.

"I, um, I made these cookies for you, to thank you! Um, I mean, I didn't make them by myself, I had help, but they are home made!"

Kageyama's friend accepted the cookies, but before he could thank him, he just ran off.

It took the admirer a few weeks, but eventually he started talking to them normally and without fidgeting.

About half a year later, the trio was forcefully split up. The club had gotten increasingly bigger over the years and it was decided that the club was split in two teams with one of the teams using a new gym a few kilometres away. The split was decided by where people lived, so the children would be using the gym that was closest to their home. This meant that Kageyama was going to use the new gym, while his two friends were going to stay in the old one.

"We'll still meet when the club holds tournaments and then we can play against each other!" The admirer said teary-eyed after the announcement had been given.

"Yes, but I wanted to be on the same team as you guys..." Kageyama said, feeling a bit defeated.

"Then let's make a promise," Kageyama's friend declared, "The three of us won't be going to the same Middle School, so let's go to the same High School. In six years we'll be much stronger and together we'll make it to nationals!"

"How will we know what High School to go to?" Kageyama asked.

"We'll keep in touch and, when the time comes, we'll chose a strong school! Right now, the two top High Schools are Shiratorizawa and Karasuno, so we'll probably attend one of those if things don't change."

The three of them huddled together and held out their fists so they connected.

"It's a promise."

* * *

Kageyama woke up before his alarm set off and decided to just stay in bed until it did go off. He could very rarely remember his dreams, but tonight he knew he'd dreamt of when he'd first joined a Volleyball Club. He'd made two friends very quickly, but he couldn't for the life of him remember their names or what they looked like. Whenever he tried to picture them, they were all blurry. The only thing he knew for sure was that they were the same age and that one of them had been taller than him and one of them had not.

It was also only just now that he remembered the promise they'd made and a smile found its way to Kageyama's lips, when he thought about how he'd ended up going to Karasuno after all. He wondered if they could remember him and if they had met at tournaments in Middle School. There was of course also the possibility that they had both quit. If Kageyama remembered correctly, they had stopped showing up to the club tournaments after awhile. Not that any of this mattered anymore, since they hadn't kept in touch and he couldn't even remember who they were. What mattered now was his new team and nothing else.

* * *

 **1 – This is an actual thing and Nadeshiko Japan won the World Championship in 2011**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	6. The Defeated and the Weak

**Another short chapter, it seems like it's becoming a thing. I'll try to make the next one shorter, this one just kind of reached its natural conclusion, I think.**

 **Also, because I have loads of exams coming up, I will be on break next week, so there you'll have to wait a little longer for the next one. I hope you understand :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

* * *

 _~The Defeated and the Weak~_

It is like the horrible feeling of missing a step on the staircase. Your body and your mind thinks that you are done descending and you are ready to walk forwards. You take a step and then you go even further down. Sometimes you even fall, because you are so shocked, so disorientated and it takes a while before you are able to process what happened, but eventually you get up and continue walking. The problem here is that there is nowhere to go. They fell down, the path before them disappeared and Hinata felt like he was going to cry. For the first time in his life, he had won an official match, two in fact, but fate was cruel and it seemed that he was only allowed to go this far. The thing that hurt Hinata the most wasn't the loss in itself. It was the fact that they had been so close. They had been close to enough to see victory ahead of them and just as they had been about to grasp it, it was forcefully taken away from them, stolen by the Great King. This was the last match they would play in the Inter-High.

The realization hit Hinata like a wave. It towered over him, making feel small and powerless, and swallowed him up. Sounds became muffled and distant, his vision was blurred and he let his mind get drifted away without putting up much of a fight. He felt a light tuck on his shirt, but he didn't move. He felt it again, but he couldn't react. Something warm wrapped itself around his wrist and like the waves of the ocean, Hinata was swept away along with the rest of the team.

Someone was speaking, maybe the Coach, maybe Takeda-Sensei or maybe even the Captain, but it was like they were talking through a pillow. The words were soft and silent, never reaching his ears no matter how hard to concentrated on listening.

The team was dismissed and everyone went in their own direction, wanting to be alone. Hinata was the same.

He found Kageyama outside, drowning himself in a water fountain. Was he crying? Hinata couldn't tell. He didn't even know if he was crying himself. He might have been, because it felt like he was underwater. He didn't even mind the feeling. All emotions felt so distant at the moment, like the water around him was preventing anything to get to him. He wanted to join Kageyama under the fountain, he wanted to submerge himself in the water, to become one with this isolating feeling, but Kageyama's words pulled him out of the water. He could feel his head breaking the surface of the water and his body following soon after, as anger spread through his entire being and his breathing got faster and heavier.

"...Don't apologize! Don't make it sound like it sound like you shouldn't have tossed to me!" Hinata was furious to the point of tears. He grabbed Kageyama and pushed him to the ground, despite Kageyama being so much bigger than him and landed on top of him, gripping his shirt tight with his small fists. Kageyama looked taken aback by the action and grabbed Hinata's wrists as if to shove him off of him, but his grip was weak and there was no real power in Kageyama's attempt.

Hinata wanted to say more. He wanted to express every thought on his mind and convey all the feelings that were suddenly controlling his body, because Hinata knew that he was the one who had failed the team. It had been his spike that had determined the outcome of the match. Hinata knew that much and Kageyama apologizing was breaking his heart, because Kageyama was a stupid, hard-to-get-along-with idiot and sometimes he was really scary, but he was also so much more. He was strong, talented, passionate, he had all the things Hinata could only dream of and that apology had sounded like he was the one at fault. Like it wasn't Hinata's fault for not making the most of the ridiculously perfect toss, like Kageyama could have done better, when he was already perfect. Hinata was the one who was dragging him down and he wanted to say, scream, yell all of these things right up in Kageyama's face, but his trembling lips wouldn't allow another word to pass them, so instead he just glared at him. Never taking his eyes off Kageyama's, trying to convey all of the feelings currently filling his body.

Hinata wasn't sure whether or not Kageyama understood what he was trying to tell him, but he averted Hinata's eyes and despite Hinata's efforts, Kageyama refused to look back at him. But Hinata could still see it. He could still see Kageyama's dark blue eyes drowning in despair.

"The meeting's going to start, you know?" Takeda-Sensei's soft voice broke the silence and though Kageyama was still looking away, Hinata found the courage to look at the teacher, who smiled lovingly at them, like they'd done something wrong and he was telling them that it was no big deal. "You two did an incredible job today... Like always."

 _But we didn't!_ _Don't lie Sensei!_ He didn't do an incredible job. Kageyama did. Everyone else did, but not him, not Hinata. "... But we still lost," was all Hinata could say as he looked back into the ground.

"That's true. But it was still a constructive match, wasn't it?"

...Silence...

"Is defeat proof that you are weak?" Takeda-Sensei asked. Both Hinata and Kageyama looked up. The strong would win and the weak would lose. Wasn't that how it was? "Isn't defeat more like a trial to overcome? A trial of whether you can stand up and walk again after falling to your knees. If you remain on your knees like that, then it would be a sign of weakness."

Hinata and Kageyama stood up.

* * *

The coach had cancelled practice the two days following the match with Seijoh. Kageyama had initially planned to show up in the gym both times anyway, but changed his mind at the last minute. Instead of going to the gym at the school grounds, he went to the gym, where, today, the finals of the Miyagi preliminaries of the Inter-High were being played. Aoba Jousai vs. Shiratorizawa. The Grand King (the nickname Hinata had given him had really stuck) vs. The Super Ace. Kageyama wasn't interested in the match itself. He was more interested in observing and studying Seijoh and, more importantly, Oikawa. He needed to close the gap between them, and the best way to surpass those stronger than you was to learn form them.

The match was intense to say the least. The teams had extremely different styles and used very different techniques. The best way to describe them would be _team_ and _individual_. Where Seijoh operated as a unit, Shiratorizawa worked more like a beehive, with the workers all gathering around Ushijima, not to form a team, but to give him what he wanted. Though the match clearly showed that Shiratorizawa was the stronger of the two teams, Kageyama couldn't help but feel that that was wrong. Seijoh had better teamwork, better attacks, better defence and they had Oikawa. And still, they lost, without even taking a single set. Karasuno hadn't been able to defeat Seijoh, who in turn hadn't been able to defeat Shiratorizawa. They had a long way to go, if they wanted to reach nationals.

Kageyama was leaving the gymnasium, when he heard something that sounded like crying. He knew that he shouldn't, but curiosity got the better of him and he walked towards the sound. He was about to turn around a corner, when he stopped himself. He didn't have the right to just walk up to someone who was crying, but still curious, he peeked around the corner.

He had seen Oikawa cry before. Almost exactly three years ago, when Kitagawa Daiichi had been defeated by Shiratorizawa, but that time had been different. Oikawa had still been standing with a resolve to defeat Ushijima in High School and Kageyama remembered how much he'd looked up to him, how much he had respected him. This Oikawa was different. He was on his knees, head bowed to the ground and crying into his uniform, looking weak and defeated. There was no one else, but the two of them and Kageyama wanted to leave so badly, but he couldn't get his body to move and his eyes wouldn't leave the sight of Oikawa. Maybe seeing Oikawa like this, reminded Kageyama that he wasn't invincible and he could be defeated. Oikawa was only a high schooler after all and Kageyama felt a newfound confidence, but, at the same time, he also felt so sorry for him. Oikawa was a hard-working person. Kageyama had seen how hard he'd worked day after day, when they'd been in Middle School. Oikawa had given everything he had and if Kageyama wasn't the one going to nationals, then Oikawa should be the one to do so... But he wasn't.

There was another set of footsteps approaching, walking towards Oikawa and stopping right in front of him. Iwaizumi was looking down at Oikawa, but his face was hidden in shadows, making Kageyama unable to see what expression he was making. Oikawa didn't move nor did he show any sign that he'd noticed Iwaizumi at all and after a while, Iwaizumi crouched down to him, laid a hand on his shoulder and said something that Kageyama couldn't hear... And Oikawa looked up at him, smiled, wiped away his tears and nodded. He let Iwaizumi help him up and when they were both standing, they began walking away from Kageyama. Iwaizumi put a hand on Oikawa's back and the whisper of _'Thank you, Iwa-chan',_ hang loosely in the air long after they had disappeared from Kageyama's view.

* * *

It had taken some time, but on the third day, it seemed that Karasuno's Volleyball Team was back in business. They third years were staying to the Spring High and the determination to become stronger was unifying feeling that seemed to bring the team closer together. Takeda-Sensei announced the possibility of a Tokyo training camp and everything seemed to be back to where it was before the Inter-High had begun. But then again...

Kageyama looked towards Hinata, who seemed to notice his gaze and caught his eyes with his own. The two of them were partners on court, but as it was at the moment, they were too weak. They needed to change, the question was just: how?

* * *

 **Is it very easy to see that IwaOi is my Haikyuu! OTP? I hope not, but they have a very precious relationship, even in the platonic sense. The Oikawa scene may seem unimportant for now, but you'll see why it's there if you'll stick around long enough. Also next chapter is Tokyo! Yay!**

 **Please Fave it you liked it or maybe even leave a little review :3**


	7. Cute girls

**Back from hiatus! I'm still doing exams, so it'll be another short chapter, BUT since next friday is Christmas day, I hope to write an extra long chapter, so look forward to that! Thank you to everyone who is still reading, I love all of you 3**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

* * *

 _~Cute girls~_

Kageyama was a good person. Sure, he had flaws, but who was perfect? Yet, in this moment, Kageyama's mind was filled with thoughts that made him question himself, but, then again, anyone in this situation would probably fall victim to this, because this wasn't fair. Hinata's little sister, Natsu, was too cute for this world! Kageyama was seriously considering stuffing her into his bag and just making a run for it. Natsu was currently sitting on Kageyama's lap, while playing with his hair and Kageyama just let her, because how could he not? She had big, sparkling eyes, chubby cheeks and, just like her brother, brightly orange coloured hair with a life of its own.

"Kageyama-onii-chan, your hair is so soft!" She exclaimed and patted his head like he was a dog. "Also~" Natsu stood up besides him and lifted her hand above her head, comparing their heights, "You're almost taller than me, even though you're not standing! You're so cool, onii-chan! One day I wanna be as tall as you!"

"Really?" Kageyama said softly, "But then Hinata-chan-"

"Natsu!" She corrected him.

"Yes, sorry, Natsu-chan, you would be taller than your brother."

"Of course!" She shouted, while she jumped up into the air and stroke a pose as she landed, "Nii-chan is short, so I'll outgrow him!"

"There is no way I'll let you grow taller than me!" Hinata said while entering with a tray of tea and snacks, "Besides, Kageyama is here to study with me, so we can't play with you."

"Ehh? But I wanna play Kageyama-onii-chan!" She said as she flung herself around Kageyama, gripping him tightly, clearly not intending to let go.

"You can't! Besides, Kageyama isn't the playing type, he's like really serious, like this:" Hinata held his hair down to imitate Kageyama's hairstyle, squinted his eyes and made his voice really deep, "I am the best Volleyball player in Japan, no one can beat and my perfect tosses, I am just the best!"

"When did I ever say that!" Kageyama retorted and threw the nearest pillow at his face, Natsu still clinging on to him.

"You probably think it all the time, so what's the difference?" Hinata said, throwing the pillow back at him.

"I don't!"

"Well, either way, Natsu, get out of my room."

"Noooo! I wanna stay!" She cried and buried her head in Kageyama's shirt.

"Natsu!" Hinata hissed and grabbed her, trying to make her let go of Kageyama, but to no vain. "Alright then, if you don't want to let go, you leave me no choice, but to use my secret weapon!"

 _What?_

"Ultimate tickle attack!"

The battle was brutal, devastating and ended in Hinata's overwhelming victory. Kageyama wasn't sure how to react to any of this.

"Sorry about that... Now let's study so we can go to Tokyo!"

* * *

All in all, Kageyama was surprised at how well he and Hinata had done that day considering that they were both pretty bad at school, but it also became pretty evident that if they were to actually pass all of their subjects, they would need a tutor. They had already (much against Kageyama's good will) asked Tsukishima for help, but getting about half an hour's help from a person who didn't like them, probably wasn't the most efficient way to improve their impressively low grades. And more importantly, all this studying was making Kageyama itch for playing Volley. The team still practised once a week, but morning practice had been cancelled to let players stay up a little longer to study, especially since four of their regulars were on the verge of failing at least half their subjects. Kageyama sighed. He just really wanted to play.

Kageyama reached his front door, after having spend the majority of the day with Hinata, but before he got to open it, it flew open and he was tackled to ground. Kageyama couldn't quite make out what had, literally, hit him, but he did notice the dark brown hair covering his face and hindering his eyesight.

"What the-?" Kageyama gasped, trying to blow the hair out of his, unable to use his hands as his arms were being strapped to his sides by this person, who seemed to be either hugging him to tightly or not using enough force to actually break his bones, either way it hurt.

"It hurts..." Kageyama tried, since he couldn't seem to muster enough strength to get this person of off him.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I just got so excited since I haven't seen you in forever!" The person said and immediately let go of him.

Kageyama looked at the girl currently sitting in front of him and he was slightly confused. The girl had come running from inside of his house and had said that she hadn't seen him in forever, clearly hinting that they had met before, but Kageyama couldn't for the life of him remember who this girl was. She had big brown eyes and long, curly hair. It was in fact so curly that if she had had short hair, it would probably have looked like a mane. She had darker skin than him, but it wasn't as dark as her hair, though it almost looked that way in the dark. She was wearing a short, sleeveless green dress, white skinny jeans and no shoes. Kageyama did not have to look twice to acknowledge that she was very pretty, but...

"Um... Who are you?" He asked, confused.

Needlessly to say, he got slapped pretty hard and he had a red hand print on his face the rest of the day.

"How rude! I came all this way to see you and you don't even remember me? I'm offended." She huffed, crossed her arms and turned her head like a pouting child.

There was a few seconds of awkward silence until she spoke again.

"Yamamoto Houjou," she said, turning her head back, "You better remember me now."

Yamamoto... Houjou. Of course he remembered her, but, boy, had she changed since they last saw each other, but then again, that was almost eight years back, so no wonder she looked differently.

"I didn't know you were coming here, you could have told me!" Kageyama said, annoyed, lightly hitting her sholder. He and Houjou were what you'd probably call mail-buddies. They were childhood friends, but after Houjou had moved to another town, they hadn't seen each other, but kept in contact via mail. However, since they never exchanged pictures, he had no idea how much she had changed.

"Kinda spontaneous and I wanted to surprise you," she smiled and helped him to his feet. She dragged him inside, "After dinner, you better give me all the gos, I want to know everything about your life, Tobio."

Kageyama wondered what his life had become and silently followed her inside.

* * *

 **Introducing Yamamoto Houjou, I hope you like her, but please feel free to say if you don't.**


	8. Volleyball is the best sport!

**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you're all having a wonderful time, whereever in the world you are and whether or not you celebrate Christmas!**

 **To the guest reviewer, Typhe: As you might've noticed, this will not be a KageHina fic, because I was requested to keep it platonic, BUT I do plan on making a seperate KageHina fic, either as a side project or when I'm done with this fic.**

 **Important not to anyone who cares about football:**

* * *

 _~Volleyball is the best sport!~_

 _About 8 years ago_

The Kageyama family lived in a peaceful neighbourhood. It mostly consisted of elderly people and young couples looking to start a family, and, because of this, there were hardly any children. It was in the middle of summer break and Kageyama was on the street practising football, all by himself. Even though his mother was a coach, she still didn't help him out much, because, apparently, he should learn by himself and if she helped him it would be unfair. Kageyama found this hard to understand, since he didn't play on a team or anything of the sort, so who exactly would it be unfair to?

Kageyama was running up and down the street, trying to improve his coordination, but, occasionally, he would still trip over the ball. He'd been outside for about an hour, and the combination of heat and constant movement, Kageyama was almost at his limit. It was then that a large moving truck, followed by a small car, stopped outside the house next to Kageyama's. Curious, Kageyama ran towards the vehicles, carrying his football in his hands. It seemed that there were people moving into the neighbouring house and Kageyama hoped that there would be someone his age with them. And hopefully also someone who played football.

There were a couple of moving-people, who were carrying a bunch of stuff inside of the house and a man who was talking to one of them. Kageyama presumed that he was the one who was moving into the house. Behind him was a woman, who was unloading the car with smaller boxes. Kageyama had yet to see a child, but they didn't seem as young as some of the other couples who lived in the neighbourhood, so he was still hoping that there was a child in the car, who just hadn't gotten out yet. And his hopes were met.

"Houjou! We're here, won't you get out of the car and help your dad ans I with these boxes." The woman had raised her voice enough for Kageyama to hear her clearly and even though he was curious about this 'Houjou', he didn't dare to go any closer.

"I don't wanna! I never wanted to move! I want to go back to Akita! I want to go back to my friends!" A girls voice was crying even louder than her mother.

"Houjou! You know that we wouldn't have moved if we could've avoided it, but we couldn't, so instead of complaining, why don't you just make the best of it? You might even meet some really incredible people here. Now get out of the car and help us out."

A girl, who was a little taller than Kageyama, got out of the car. She wasn't wearing shoes (much to her mother's disapproval), but she was wearing a green skirt, a white tank top with some weird logo on, as well as a cap, which almost completely concealed her short brown hair and a ball.

"I don't wanna help," she said, walking away from her mother and towards Kageyama, who had gone to hide by the entrance to his house, but still observing the new family, "I'll just go see if there is a place for me to practice."

She continued walking away from her mother despite being yelled at for being stubborn and selfish, although no one made an attempt to stop her from leaving. She eventually walked past the spot where Kageyama was hiding and immediately noticed him.

"You!" She yelled at him, while dramatically pointing a finger at him, startling him to the point where he almost yelled out in shock... almost. "Do you know a place, where a girl can practice some Volley in peace?!"

"I- um, yes!" Kageyama stammered and he was immediately grabbed by the wrist by the girl, as she dragged him along. Kageyama didn't dare complain, so he just told her when to turn right and left until they eventually reached a small field.

"Mmm, this is nice!" She exclaimed and finally let go of Kageyama, "What was your name again?"

"Kageyama Tobio." 'Even though you never asked' went unsaid.

"Cool. I'm Yamamoto Houjou, but just call me Houjou, I don't give a crap about formalities. Also do you know how to play Volley?"

"Um, I know the rules, I think, but I've never played it before, and don't you need more people?"

"What? You haven't Volley before? What planet are you from?"

"I- I play football, so I don't see why I should have played Volley?"

"Obviously because Volley is the best sport!"

"O-Okay?" Kageyama didn't really know how to interact with this girl, but he was trying really hard, because this was the first time someone had made the effort to talk to him, "I don't mind trying Volley, but how do we play with just the two of us?"

"Hmm, yes, that is hard, we could just pass the ball, but if you haven't played before, then I don't know... Maybe you could just toss for me, so I can practice my spikes!"

"Toss?" Kageyama tilted his head at the unfamiliar word.

Houjou threw the ball to Kageyama, who caught it. "You just need to throw the ball high up in front of me, so I can jump up and smash it down."

"Okay, I'll try my best!"

"Alright then!" Houjou cheered backing up a bit preparing a run-up. "Okay, Tobio, throw the ball." He did as she asked and threw the ball high up into the air. Houjou ran, jumped and spiked the ball hardly into the ground, so that it bounced back and landed in a bush.

"Uwa! That was a good one! One more time, Tobio!"

This pattern continued for about an hour, and despite Tobio, being previously worn out by the football practice, and doing nothing but throwing a ball up, he was having a lot of fun. He got really satisfied every time Houjou hit the ball, but he also got annoyed, when she didn't. He also found that how he threw the ball mattered a lot. If he threw the ball too high, she would miss it, but if it was too low, she could spike it with a lot of force. He also had to keep the ball around the area, where she was jumping, because she had short arms, if he threw the ball a little away from her, she would also miss. All in all, the challenges made by simply throwing the ball for Houjou was really fun.

"I should probably be getting back," Houjou said, when they finally stopped, and Kageyama couldn't help, but be a little sad that the fin would stop, "but let's meet again tomorrow!"

Kageyama's face lit up.

They spend the rest of the Summer break together playing Volley. Houjou taught Kageyama some of the basics and they started being able to pass to each other without Kageyama completely failing. The one thing that Kageyama noticed about Volleyball that was different from football was how much more fun he was having. He couldn't really understand it, because there was no doubt in his mind that he was shit at Volley and he was pretty fucking good at football, considering his age, and he had always heard that it was hard to enjoy something if you were bad at it. It was just that Volley was so much fun. Kageyama suspected that it was because he was together with Houjou and not all alone as he had been when he had played football.

It was the last day of the break and they were currently resting and drinking some juice Kageyama had brought for them.

"What school are you going to?" Kageyama asked Houjou, hoping they would be attending the same school, even if she was older than him.

"Ugh, I'll be going to an all-girls school, so boring!" She exhaled and threw herself on the ground, looking into the sky, "Are you gonna quit football, Tobio?"

"My mum will kill me, but I probably will," Kageyama smiled as he thought about how fun the week had been, "By the way, Houjou-san, I've been meaning to ask... What's with the cap? Isn't it really hot to always wear it?" Kageyama had noticed she always wore the hat, never taking it off.

"You shouldn't question a girl's fashion choices Tobio, did your mother not teach you anything?" Houjou teased and chuckled a little before giving a serious answer, "I don't like my hair."

"Why not?"

"Geez, you're so curious, Tobio!" She sat up and hit him lightly in the head, "But if you absolutely _must_ know, it's because my hair is all curly and thick, and I just don't like how it looks, so I keep it short and wear hats. It's fashionable and I get to cover my hair. Win-win!" She smiled.

"I think it would be really pretty if it got long..." Kageyama said, not really thinking about what was coming out of his mouth.

"Are you kidding me! I'd look like a witch!"

"Really? I think you'd look strong! Like a lion or something... But maybe that's not a good thing?" Kageyama was seriously considering whether resembling a lion was a good thing or not, but Houjou just laughed at him.

"You're amazing Tobio! But on to something else. I think you should be a Setter!"

"What was a Setter again?"

"Do you not remember anything?" She teased him again "It's the playmaker of the team. A Setter specializes in tosses! You like tossing, right? And you're good at it too... for a beginner that is."

"A Setter... Sounds cool."

That night Kageyama finally talked to his mum about his new interests and, unexpectedly, she was very supportive and only pinched him a little for dropping football so easily.

Over the course of the next year, Houjou and Kageyama would meet up whenever they were both free and play Volleyball, but all good things must come to an end and after a year of fun, Houjou was moving back to Akita, leaving Kageyama by himself.

"Promise you'll write to me!" Kageyama almost shouted at Houjou, when they were saying their goodbyes.

"Only if you enter that boys scout team, you'll never get good if you play all by yourself. I'll write, when you have joined!"

"That's a promise?"

"That's a promise."

Kageyama silently watched as the car disappeared from his sight.

* * *

 _Present day_

Kageyama, his mother, father and Yamamoto Houjou were all sat around the dinner table, eating a delicious dinner.

After too much silence, Kageyama's mother saw it fit to start up a conversation "So, Yamamoto-"

"Houjou."

"I'm sorry, Houjou-san, which High School are you attending?"

"Niiyama Girls' High School."

"That's a power school, isn't it?" Kageyama asked, impressed.

"It is! We've been to nationals for five years in a row! This year it'll be six!"

"Are you a regular?"

"I'm not just a regular, Tobio-chan~, I'm the Ace!" Houjou was looking really proud of herself as she declared herself the Ace, but Kageyama didn't have the heart, nor the mental energy, to start a mini war, so he just continued to praise her.

"But enough about me, Tobio, the only thing I've heard from you is that your fellow first years are annoying... Which school was it again?"

"Karasuno."

"Oh! The fallen champions. The flightless crows, was it?" She teased, starting the war Kageyama had avoided.

"We're good!" Kageyama insisted.

"Then how come you didn't make it nationals?" She said, as if she was stating the winning argument.

"... We met someone better..." Kageyama said through gritted teeth, "But we'll definitely win the Spring Tournament! Hinata and I make sure of that!"

Houjou tilted her head, "Hinata? Who the hell is..." She made a look of sheer excitement, "Is Hinata your girlfriend?" Her eyes were practically sparkling, "I can't believe you have a girlfriend, Tobio!"

"Hinata is my team mate, you dumbass! He is _not_ my girlfriend! Where the hell did you even get that idea?!"

"Ehh..? How boring. I was hoping for something more exciting. Especially since you brought his name up. You never tell me the names of anyone... But then again, neither do I, ahaha."

The rest of dinner time was centred around small talk, mostly between Houjou and Kageyama's mother. After dinner, they helped with the dishes before disappearing into Kageyama's bedroom.

"You really turned into a Volley-idiot, didn't you Tobio?" Houjou stated after having looked around his bedroom for a while, "Almost everything in here is related to Volleyball."

"And who's fault is that?"

"Are you blaming me?" Houjou pretended to be offended and made a show of acting really hurt and promising never to talk to him again. The act gained a few laughs from Kageyama.

"So, tell me about this Hinata guy! Is he like this really talented player?"

Kageyama sighed, "Not at all." He then proceeded to complain about Hinata for a full ten minutes, only to get interrupted by Houjou.

"But if he's that shit, then why do you admire him so much?"

"Huh?"

"What? You're gonna tell me that you don't admire him after talking so much about him? Besides he must have some skill if he's a regular. Is he like super tall or something?"

"He's a midget and I don't admire him! That's why I'm complaining!"

"Well, I don't claim to be the best at reading people, but I know you quite well and I know that you never talk about anyone for more than 10 seconds unless you admire them. It was the same with Takehiro and Oikawa. Which reminds me! Could you, like introduce me to them?"

"For the last time, I do not admire Hinata, and what do you want with Takehiro and Oikawa-san?"

"Well, other than the fact that they are pretty fucking good at Volley, they are both hot and single, so how about it? You got their numbers, right?"

"That's besides the point, but either way, I'm not really on good terms with them, so let's move on to something else."

"But-"

"No."

"So Hinata-"

"No."

"Aww... c'mon Tobio, is there anything you want to talk about!" She was shaking him at this point and he flicked her forehead.

"Anything, but those two things..." He searched his mind for a topic, "You grew your hair out."

She lightly touched her hair, looking mildly surprised, "I did, what brought that up?"

"I thought you didn't like it? Or don't I remember correctly?"

"That was a long time ago! I've moved on from that, besides, weren't you the one who said it would look nice if it was long?"

"I did..."

They spend the rest of the night catching up on everything they had written about in their letters, such as class mates and practice matches. Houjou was surprised, when she learned that Kageyama was on the same team as Nishinoya, who was pretty well known throughout the Miyagi prefecture. It got to the point, where they could hardly stay awake and decided to go to sleep, Houjou sleeping in their guest room, but even though Kageyama's body was tired and wanted nothing more than sleep, his mind was wide awake.

Houjou had claimed that Kageyama admired Hinata, and Kageyama had lied and said that he didn't. It was normal for him to deny all admiration he had for Hinata to Hinata himself, but he told Houjou practically everything, so why did he lie to her? Was it because they were face to face and not just writing letters to each other? Kageyama simply couldn't figure it out. He had no problem admitting to himself that he admired, even looked up to Hinata. Why else would have stalked, um, figured out which school Hinata would attend, just so he could go to the same one? And why would he have spend time creating a new move that only Hinata would be able to use, making the skill completely useless if they ever ended up on different teams. Kageyama's brain was at the point of overwork. Why couldn't he get himself to say it out loud? Was he ashamed? Not really. Did feel inferior? Not at all, he topped Hinata in skill, technique and physique. Then what the hell was it?

After completely wrecking his brain, Kageyama gave up and went to sleep.

Houjou had to leave early that morning, but promised to visit again after the Spring Tournament preliminaries. Kageyama was really looking forward to it and promised himself that when she came back, he would tell her about Hinata. And not just the bad stuff. Maybe he'd even tell her the truth about why he had gone to Karasuno. If he did, she would be the first to know and hopefully also the last.

* * *

Kageyama and Hinata were still preparing for the tests and Tsukishima was becoming a real pain in the ass, even more than usual, so he and Hinata would soon be forced to change plans, when it came to studying. And that's when their saviour came as if sent from heaven. Her name was Yachi Hitoka.

* * *

 **I hope you liked that chapter. It wasn't as long as I promised it would be, but unfortunately it just came to it's natural end. There was also a lot of Houjou, so I hope you like her, and if you don't, then rejoice, because she won't be back for awhile.**

 **Once again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**


	9. Pride

**Happy New Years! It's 2016! I hope you all had a wonderful 2015, and if you didn't then may 2016 be your year! I will unfortunately be going on a break next week (yes, I know, I just had a break, hate me all you want). This will be the last break for a while though (unless I get sick or something), so look forward to more updates after this.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

* * *

 _~Pride~_

"Childhood friends sure are nice," Yachi suddenly said, not even looking at him. Hinata was in the bathroom, so Kageyama and Yachi decided that now would be a good time to take a break. Kageyama didn't know why Yachi had said what she had, so he decided just to nod and agree, which she took as a sign to continue.

"I don't really have any childhood friends, so I get kinda jealous, when I see you and Hinata together." She finally looked at him and it took him a moment to process what she had said.

"Who told you that Hinata and I were childhood friends?" He said, a little perplexed.

"No one told me, but it's kinda easy to see by the way you act around each other. You fight a lot, but you always have each others backs, even of you don't say it out loud and every time one of you does something amazing, it's always the other person who looks all proud and stuff..." She trailed off and looked away from him again.

"But we're not." Kageyama said, extremely confused as to why Yachi thought what she did, because the reasons she had given were _not_ true. Why would Kageyama be proud of Hinata, when there was nothing to be proud of? Sure, he admired him, but that was different.

"You're not what?" Yachi said, sounding just as confused as Kageyama felt he was.

"We're not childhood friends. We haven't even known each other for a year."

"What?! Oh my God! I'm so sorry! That was really awkward! Please don't hate me!" Yachi continued to ramble apologizes and kept bowing her head, making herself look smaller and smaller every time. Kageyama hopelessly tried to make her stop, but soon gave up, when she accidentally head bumped him.

Yachi was still apologizing, when Hinata came back in with a tray of tea, made by Yachi's mother, and she then turned to Hinata and apologized to him, making him question what the hell was going on.

Eventually she calmed down and they told him what had happened. And he started laughing... a lot.

"Wahahaha- You thought- Ahahaha- That- Ahaha-" Hinata was literally rolling on the floor, while laughing so hard that tears were forming in the corner of his eyes.

"Calm down, you dumbass!" Kageyama shouted at him to no effect. Kageyama just didn't get Hinata, why was it so funny?

Hinata, still lying on the floor, had finally stopped laughing, but was still smiling from ear to ear (not that that was unusual, since he always weirdly happy).

"I can understand though," Hinata finally said, earning him an odd look from Kageyama, because he certainly did not understand, "I mean, we're always together, because we're partners and all that, and even though Kageyama is an idiot, I kinda get him. It's like we're just kinda _wham_ , if you know what I mean."

Neither Kageyama nor Yachi knew what he meant, but rather than saying that they remained silent and left the topic to go back to studying.

It was getting late and Kageyama and Hinata finally left Yachi's apartment, both of them feeling much more prepared for the upcoming tests.

It was normal for Hinata and Kageyama to either comfortably walk together in silence or for Hinata to ramble about something stupid and for Kageyama to only ever speak, when he wanted to either insult Hinata or give him Volleyball advise. This time was different. They weren't speaking, but it definitely was _not_ a comfortable silence. At least for Kageyama, who's mind was racing with all sorts of weird thoughts, because, yes, he admired Hinata, he had already spend nights upon nights figuring this out and admitting it himself so many times that it became a natural thing to him. However, this was all there was. Admiration did not necessarily mean that you were close, in fact, most times it was the opposite. Kageyama admired Oikawa, but they were definitely not close. Kageyama did admire Houjou, but that was tied into the fact that she got him into Volleyball and she actually was a childhood friend. Hinata was nothing more than an admirable person.

The problem here was just that now that someone had pointed out how close they were, Kageyama could not help but think things through and the more he thought about it, the more he understood. He practically spend every free hour of his day with Hinata. They lived fairly close, so they walked to school together. They usually got to morning practice before anyone else to perfect their attacks. During practice they always paired up together, and Kageyama had noticed that the only other people who had the same partner every time were Tsukishima and Yamaguchi (and guess what, they were childhood friends). They were not in the same class, but they would meet up during lunch break, sometimes with people from Hinata's class as well, but they were still together. After school of practice they would stay to practice Kageyama's serve and Hinata's receives and then, when they got hungry and didn't have more food, they would walk home together, usually reviewing they practice, figuring out what they needed to work on and what new things they could try. Spending this much time with a person without getting close to them was probably impossible, so why the hell did Kageyama not think of Hinata as a friend?

Kageyama looked at the boy besides him, who seemed to be muttering English verbs to himself, probably revising what he'd learned from Yachi not long ago, and decided not to think too much about, because Hinata was odd, so being close to him was bound to be odd as well.

That's when Kageyama realized: "Hey, this place is near Shiratorizawa."

Hinata's face lit up and he forgot all about English: "By Shiratorizawa, you mean the one with Ushiwaka?"

"Do you have some business with me?"

At first neither Kageyama noticed the third voice suddenly addressing, but it soon dawned on them that something was not right and they both turned towards the voice. And right there was the one and only Ushijima Wakatoshi, seemingly out for a run.

"Japan!" Hinata exclaimed in English reverting back to one minute ago and seeming absolutely stunned at his presence. Kageyama on the other hand saw this as an opportunity.

"We're from Karasuno! Would you let us do some reconnaissance on Shiratorizawa?"

"Karasuno," Ushiwaka repeated slowly, "That team who uses a strange quick strike. Do what you want. No matter how capable you lot may be, you'll see that we never weaken." He turned away from them, "I'm returning to school. If you want to watch us, then follow me... If you can keep up that is."

Ushiwaka ran at a high pace, but both Kageyama and Hinata had no problem keeping up, however, Kageyama knew that if they had been running with him from the beginning of his workout, they would have worn out before him. Another thing that slightly bothered Kageyama was that Ushiwaka knew who they were. Karasuno did not have a great reputation anymore, so there wasn't really any reason for schools like Shiratorizawa to learn about them, but Ushiwaka knew about their quick strike. Kageyama wondered just how much he knew and if he'd seen them play.

They arrived at Shiratorizawa after the short run and the school was huge. At least twice the size of Seijoh and Hinata was so impressed that they both got distracted enough to lose track of Shiratorizawa. This resulted in ten minutes of franticly running around trying to find out where the Volleyball Club held their practises. It seemed that they were in the middle of a practice match, and with a college team on top of that. They really were impressive.

"It took you long enough," Ushiwaka's voice came from behind for the second time that day. Kageyama had been feeling underestimated the whole time and was quite frankly pretty tired of it, so he decided to let Ushiwaka know who he was and then work from there.

"I'm Karasuno High School's Kageyama. May I observe you in action?"

"Kageyama... From Kitagawa Daiichi, huh?" Kageyama wasn't sure how he should take Ushiwaka knowing who he was, because he did not like the reputation he had gotten from Kitagawa.

"Yes... I failed to get into this school." Kageyama regretted saying the last part as soon as it had escaped his mouth.

"I'll bet. I remember seeing how you played during Middle School. This school has no need of a Setter, who cannot devote himself to me, the Ace."

Kageyama felt kind of offended by that statement, but then again, he knew that his play in Middle School had not been optimal. Kageyama was also a little overwhelmed by Ushiwaka, who at one hand seemed extremely arrogant, but there was something about him that just made you believe his absolute strength. But while Kageyama was feeling tense, Hinata just started giggling:

"Yep, you definitely don't give off a feeling of devotion at all!" And though Hinata had said exactly the same thing as Ushiwaka, Kageyama was somehow a lot more offended now than before.

"The Grand King is the same way, though. Even though he's the strongest Setter in the prefecture." Hinata continued to ramble.

"Oikawa-san has got nothing to do with this," Kageyama retorted, not liking it, when people compared him to Oikawa, because always got the weird feeling of inferiority.

"Oikawa..." Ushiwaka said, making his presence known to them once again, as they had completely forgotten him in that short moment, "That guy is an excellent player. He should have here." Again, the feeling of inferiority stabbed Kageyama's heart, but he ignored it.

"You mean Oikawa-san would dedicate himself to the Ace?"

"Oikawa is a Setter who draws out the maximum potential of whatever team he's on. If the team's maximum potential is low, it won't amount to anything. If it's high, he'll only bring it higher. That is his talent." Kageyama had a hunch about where this was going and he didn't like it one bit, "An excellent seedling needs suitably excellent soil. It can't yield first-rate fruit on barren land."

"Barren land? What's that mean?" Hinata asked slowly, not seeming as confused as Kageyama would have suspected.

"It means that, aside from Oikawa, Aoba Jousai is weak."

"Weak..." Hinata repeated quietly and Kageyama could feel chills going through his body, "If Seijoh is barren land, that would make us something like concrete, wouldn't it?" Hinata looked up at Ushiwaka intensely and Kageyama knew if he'd been in Ushiwaka's shoes, he would have taken a step back.

"I apologize if I have offended you in some way," Ushiwaka replied and Kageyama wanted to punch him in the face for saying that, "but whatever those who lost to Aoba Jousai and couldn't continue on to the prefecture finals might say, I can't think if it any other way."

At this moment a stray ball came flying towards Ushiwaka, who immediately jumped to get it. But Hinata was faster. He jumped up and snatched the ball away from Ushiwaka, who, for the first time, looked surprised.

"I'm Hinata Shoyou and I sprouted from that concrete. We're going to knock you down and go to the nationals."

And just like that, Kageyama knew he'd been wrong, because in this moment, he felt nothing but sheer pride.

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 **I hope you liked that chapter. It was my take on their meet with Ushiwaka, since I always really liked that moment. Once again, Happy New Years!**


	10. What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

**First, I am so sorry for not uploading anything last week. Unfortunately I got ill and it just lasted forever, it is also the reason for the short chapter, as I am still slightly ill.**

 **This chapter is set right after the KageHina fight (can I call it that?), just so no one is confused about the timeline. Also, it will be a couple of chapters before it happens, but I will eventually go beyond what is going on in the Anime and enter Manga territory. I will state VERY clearly when that happends, just so you are prepared if you are an anime-only reader.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

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 _~What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger~_

His face was red, his eyes puffy and his cheeks wet, but Kageyama would deny to anyone that he was crying. He just happened to be upset and went running in the pouring rain. That was all there was to it. He had no idea where his feet where taking him, he just ran and ran and ran. He wanted to get rid of the frustration that was building up inside of him and this was the only way he could think of.

As he was running, all noise seemed afar, except for the sound of his every breath and the rain falling around him. He didn't notice the people around him, nor the people he almost ran into, had they not moved aside at last second. Even in the pouring rain, he felt nothing but his beating heart that threatened to burst out of his chest at any moment. Despite everything that Kageyama was feeling and not feeling, he just kept running like his life depended on it.

He eventually collapsed on a set of stairs and remained there for what seemed like forever until he finally came to his senses. At first he looked around, trying to figure out where he had ended up, as t served as a great distraction from his previous thoughts, but then he realized where he was and all those thoughts came right back to him, and he felt like he had been punched in the guts. Kageyama had run right to the building, where he had met Hinata for the first time and, if memory served him right, this was the exact place where Hinata had declared that he would one day beat Kageyama. Kageyama but his lip and buried his head between his knees. This day had been nothing but a downwards spiral of horrible events, everything just seemed to go wrong and Kageyama didn't know how to fix it. And then a fight had broken out. It wasn't the most violent of sorts, but Kageyama would never in a million years have imagined Hinata getting into an actual fight, let alone with him and it hurt Kageyama to think that he was the one to have pushed Hinata over the edge. It was just that Kageyama was so scared and Hinata was so stubborn and now he was just lost.

Kageyama reached for his phone. Had he not been desperate to fix everything between him and Hinata, he wouldn't have called, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Hello~ This is Takehiro," came the answer and Kageyama tried to speak, but the words just didn't come, "Tobio? Is that you? Do you need something? … Hello?" Kageyama was so desperate for help, but the words was stuck in his throat and he was afraid that if he spoke, he would throw up.

"Tobio, if this is you, then I don't know what you want, but I'll wait. Just take your time." Takehiro's sweet voice was calming and Kageyama could feel the tears threatening to fall again, but this time for a different reason.

"Help me," Kageyama whispered, and he was afraid that the words were swallowed up by the rain, but thankfully Takehiro picked up on his plead.

"What's going on?" Takehiro asked concerned, clearly giving Kageyama his full attention, like he always would whenever Kageyama came to him.

"I fought with Hinata," Kageyama said, sounding as broken as ever.

"Hinata... Ah, Chibi-chan. So, let me guess, you fought and now you don't know what to do about it. How typical of you Tobio. Tell me what you fought about."

So Kageyama told him everything that had happened that day, he told him about the quick-strike, and how Hinata was starting to seek independence. He told him about all the failures that came with it and the fight it had resulted in, when they couldn't come to an agreement. When he was done Takehiro was silent for a while, before he slowly started talking.

"As much as I can see where you're coming from, I also don't quite understand why you don't want Chibi-chan to be able to stand on his own feet. It's not like he would leave you in the dust or anything. You have the talent, the experience and the abilities to do whatever you want on the court, why not let Chibi-chan try to achieve that too?"

"It's not that I don't want him to grow and become stronger, I'm just... I'm just afraid that he'll make the same mistake as me... Hinata has so much talent, but almost nothing else, if he starts drifting away from the team, he'll never be able to make it. He'll be isolated. I don't want that to happen, not after I know what it's like."

"Oh, look how much you've grown, Tobio," Takehiro said lovingly and Kageyama could see his affectionate smile so clearly that he might as well have been right there with him, "I will give you two pieces of advise, Tobio, but you have to figure it out by yourself." Kageyama nodded even though Takehiro couldn't see him,

"First, know that Chibi-chan's growth does not need to be his alone. You are allowed to grow along with him, try to make it work. Second, tomorrow, go to your old Volleyball club, the one you were in before Middle School, don't question it, just do it, I'm sure you'll find it helpful."

"... Thank you, Takehiro-san."

"I'm always here to help." He hung up.

Kageyama remained by the stairs for a while, thinking everything over. It was still raining, but at this point he was soaked to the bones, so it didn't really matter, the water was actually rather calming against his warm skin. He was beginning to question what exactly Hinata had become to him. He rarely got invested in other people and when he did, he could always tell exactly what those people meant to him. He had Houjou, who was his childhood friend, as well as his Volleyball idol. There was Takehiro, whom he had always regarded as an older brother, until recently when things had gotten shaky between them and Kageyama had been drowning in too many problems to ever probably apologize and make it up to him again. And then there was Hinata. Hinata whom he admired and only wanted the best for. Hinata who needed him, as much as he needed Hinata. Hinata who was easy going and understood him, when no one else did. Hinata whom he never wanted to let down, yet still had, making him feel like crap. Hinata who was the friend he had always needed and was now afraid to lose. That was what Hinata was.

* * *

Following Takehiro's advise, Kageyama had gone back to his old Volleyball club and met none other than Oikawa Torou. At first Kageyama had no idea what Takehiro had had in mind, but it had slowly made it self clear to him, why Oikawa was the best person for Kageyama to talk to in this situation. Oikawa was The Best Setter in the prefecture and someone Kageyama could only hope to match in a distant future, but he could slowly make his way there, starting right now. And Oikawa reminded him of a simple fact that Kageyama had completely forgotten over the years. The driving force of an attack is the Spiker and not the Setter. The job of the Setter is to set up a toss that gives the Spiker the highest chance of success possible. The Setter changes according to the Spiker, not the other way around. Had this been a few months earlier, Kageyama would never have thought about changing the way he played, but Hinata was special. Hinata needed Kageyama to draw out his potential and seeing Hinata at his absolute best was something Kageyama would do anything for.

* * *

Hinata was panting hard. It was no longer a mystery why some of the Second-years had quit for a while. Coach Ukai was beast. Hinata was not a person who tired easily, but right now he was really craving a break. It had been a few days since the fight with Kageyama and they had yet to speak to each other, but Hinata was sure that they were going to be fine. Why wouldn't they be? Sure, the fight had been unexpected, but they had been tired, but physically and mentally, which lead people to stop thinking clearly, which then would lead to people doing things they normally wouldn't. At least this was what Yachi had said and Yachi was smart, so she was probably right. Hinata had been upset that night, he wasn't going to deny it, but Yachi really was his saving grace. The trust she had in him and Kageyama was inspiring and it gave Hinata a strength he wasn't sure he would have found on his own. So Hinata trusted that he and Kageyama would be okay and dedicated all of his free time to practice with Coach Ukai, so that when they were ready, Hinata could stop being so dependent on Kageyama, while still maintaining the partnership they had spent months building.

During his practices with Coach Ukai it occurred to Hinata how dependent he had really been on Kageyama. He had always wanted to be able to stand on court without Kageyama, because even though they were partners, they needed to be able to do without each other. And Kageyama could do it, he was strong and skilled, he was everything Hinata wasn't. The first two days of practice, Hinata had found it almost impossible to spike a toss that was more than a little different from Kageyama's and, as Coach Ukai continuously pointed out, that was a problem. Hinata was utterly useless on his own and he was beginning to understand why Kageyama had been so much against changing the original quick-strike, but that didn't mean that he had to agree.

Hinata was slowly improving, but the more he spiked the tosses of other Setters, the more he missed Kageyama's tosses. It wasn't because they were easier to hit or that it was what he was used to, but Kageyama's tosses felt personal. They were exclusively for Hinata and no one else. The feeling of spiking a ball no one else would be able to spike was by far the best thing Hinata knew, but it was also this feeling that let Hinata continue to practice with all these different Setters, because he knew that if he improved enough, Kageyama would be able to sent him even more amazing tosses that were just for him.

"One more time!" Hinata shouted to the girl currently setting for him. He was tired, his legs felt like they were gonna set on fire, but he as determined as ever. The ball went up and Hinata jumped to spike it with everything he had.

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 **This chapter was mostly exploring KageHina's platonic relationship, but I hope you like it. Please leave a review and maybe even give me a cheeky favorite, if you did. And even if you didn't, I hope you have a good day!**


	11. Team

**Hello there! I am back on schedule and I will hopefully stay on it for a while, so there won't be any other unexpected breaks.**

 **This chapter is slightly different in style than the previous chapters, but I thought that it was a nice little thing before the next one, which has a lot of heavy plot revelations, which I won't spoil :3**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

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It's a week long training camp and besides getting stronger, developing new techniques and earning experience, it is a chance for everyone to get closer and spend more time together.

Coming from a power school with a lot of club members and not nearly enough managers, Kageyama quite early on started helping the three managers of Kitagawa Daiichi and sometimes when he felt he needed some time away from Volleyball and especially the very hyperactive Hinata, whom Kageyama really did admire, but sometimes just became a bit too much for his introverted personality, he found himself helping Shimizu with whatever she was doing. Whether it was refilling water bottles or washing T-shirts, it didn't really matter. Neither Kageyama nor Shimizu were the most talkative people, but he did learn quite a lot about her. Originally, she had played tennis, but Karasuno hadn't had a tennis club and she found herself being recruited as a manager of the slowly crumbling Boys' Volleyball team. It had not taking her long to fall in love with the sport, but more than anything, she had wanted nothing more than for Karasuno to get back on their feet. The boys from her year were hard working and talented, yet had joined the club at the worst possible time. All their efforts seemed in vain and she had found herself caring more about them than herself. Shimizu was a silent, caring and passionate person and Kageyama liked all the time, however limited it was, he spent with her.

The Captain was a supporting figure. He spend quite a lot of his time helping out the first years with whatever problems they were having, even if they weren't Volleyball related. After having practised their synchronised attack, everyone would go on to practising an individual technique, but the Captain usually found himself either helping Kageyama with his new toss or receiving Asahi and Yamaguchi's serves, as Nishinoya was busy practising his toss with Sugawara. The Captain also had a way with words. Kageyama realized that he never lost his temper, when he was around to calm him down and he also tended to play better, when the Captain was encouraging him.

Just as Daichi, Sugawara was also a supporting person, there was just the small difference in attitude between them. Where Daichi was a frightening person, when he was mad, Sugawara was quite aggressive in his support. It wasn't in the same way as Tanaka, or sometimes even Nishinoya, it was this subtle thing, which Kageyama, very weirdly, associated with his mother. They were supporting through and through, but they were also the last person you wanted to anger and defy. Kageyama and Sugawara also had a special relationship, as Kageyama had gone and stolen his spot as the official Setter. One would think that Sugawara would be salty, but he dedicated quite a lot of his time to make Kageyama the best he could become, because if he couldn't be on court himself, he was making damn sure that the Setter taking his place wouldn't drag down any of the players, and surpassing the experience Sugawara had with the second-years and, especially, the third-years, was something that Kageyama could not do on his own.

Asahi was the Ace of the team, which meant that, apart from Hinata, Kageyama had to work with him the best, because Karasuno was only as strong as their Ace. Asahi was an interesting personality. He looked like a person, who would have the same attitude as Nishinoya, but his personality as basically the complete opposite, unless he was in deep concentration. And this was when he was the strongest and the most dangerous. If Kageyama and Asahi had had a smooth training session, he would slowly begin to notice this fierce side of the always timid Asahi, but only ever fully surfaced, when they playing another team or Hinata was getting dangerously close to catching up to him. When Kageyama saw how much Asahi was improving day by day, he wondered if Hinata would ever come close to touching him, but then again, the two were of completely different calibre and comparing them would be pointless, as their skills were so far from each other.

Nishinoya was easily the most talented player on their team (not including Kageyama of course) and Kageyama was shocked speechless, when he found out that Nishinoya was broadening his skill set even further by practising a libero's toss. Nishinoya was also the only other person to come from a power school, which provided him with a different kind of experience than the other Senpai, who had simply just been playing the sport for a year longer. This experience came in quite handy, when the playing against teams like Nekoma or Fukurodani, who had years of experience being powerful and playing powerful teams.

Tanaka was a riot and at the same time quite talented. Hinata was probably going to wait quite a while to earn the name of Ace, because Tanaka was a lot closer to that title than he was. Of all the spikers Karasuno had to offer, Kageyama was surprised to find Tanaka the easiest to work with. As a spiker he had almost no flaws and when he was in good form, those flaws weren't visible in the slightest. Tanaka would ever so often come to Kageyama and ask that they try a new move and they always perfected it faster than Kageyama ever thought they would. Tanaka was also a person who often found himself inspired by others and, if anyone, he was the one Kageyama mostly associated with a crow. He absorbed everything around him and a had vicious attitude to anyone who could be considered and enemy and a protective one towards anyone in his so called pack.

Ennoshita was curious case. Kageyama hadn't quite paid attention to the more passive second-years, who were easily overshadowed by Tanaka and Nishinoya's loud personalities, but as the training camp progressed, Kageyama noticed the skill he possessed. It reminded him a great lot of the Captain's sturdy personality and attitude. He knew how to calm down the second-years, when they were going overboard and he was supportive towards the first years, who were still finding their place in the team.

Narita was the only Middle Blocker on Karasuno, who could be considered normal. And Kageyama meant this in the nicest way possible, because with people like Hinata and Tsukishima, who were a pain to work with, because one was so far from Middle Blocker potential as possible and the other was an asshole, normal was more than welcome with Kageyama. Now, usually, Narita played with Sugawara, but since Kageyama and Hinata no longer had a usable attack, Narita and Hinata had switched teams and, boy, was it a load off of Kageyama's shoulders. Narita was also a very down to earth person, whom Kageyama found very easy to communicate with (and that says a lot), so the mistakes they made were almost non-existent, although didn't have anything outrageous when it came to attacks, but all of the textbooks attacks were usually executed perfectly between them.

Kinoshita was most visible, when they weren't actually playing. He was usually the first one up in the morning and he would spent quite a lot of time trying to get everyone out of bed. He had a lot of similarities to Tanaka, except he was more tactful. He was also always the person who would either rile Tanaka up or completely dismiss his weird antics, which would usually end up in a fun argument, which always had the team laughing. It wasn't until a few days into the training camp that Kageyama also realized his worth as a player. Karasuno were having a "fun" midweek match between their usual A team and B team (with the exception of Hinata and Narita who had, of course, switched places) and when Kinoshita had gotten past Kageyama's block for the fifth time in the first set, he realized his potential. He was almost the opposite of Hinata in the way that he was almost invisible and forgettable in the midst of all these eccentric players and that made him dangerous. The blockers would always be a few centimetres behind and thus their block were significantly weakened and it didn't take the most powerful spiker a lot to break through it. However, Kageyama also noticed that this weapon didn't work against the taller players, as Tsukishima only failed to block him once and after that, seemed to have learned from his mistake. It was quite infuriating to Kageyama that Tsukishima could do something that he couldn't.

Despite Kageyama spending a whole lot of time with everyone on the team, he almost didn't speak a word to Hinata except when it was absolutely needed, but, then again, until he had perfected the new toss, he couldn't support him and it wasn't like there was anything about Hinata that he didn't already know.

Kageyama was already quite close to Yachi, but when helping her and Shimizu, they had gone from revising to talking mostly about Volleyball. It had also gone from Yachi lecturing to Kageyama as he taught her about this sport she had dived straight into without actually knowing much about it. As an outsider, Yachi also noticed a lot of things no one else would ever pay attention to. Things such as how they set up their practice, which she pointed out could be optimized to allow more people to use the same space without getting in the way of each other and things like acted towards different teams. She had noticed how many of the players on Karasuno responded differently to different kinds of provocation and as she told this to Kageyama, he quickly told the Captain and the two of them, together with Sugawara had quickly figured out how to utilize this in games. A person as Tanaka, who got easily riled up, when provoked by a person such as Bokuto, who had a positive effect on everyone, be they ally or enemy, he would have a higher success rate with more difficult techniques, such as a personal time difference attack (1) or a narrow cross (2). On the other hand, when riled up by people like Kuroo, who had a natural provoking attitude, Tanaka's attacks had more force behind them and it became difficult to stop him without three blockers.

Hinata was the same, although his response to the two teams were different from Tanaka's. When playing Fukurodani, he tended to be in a better physical state and he was just a notch faster than normal and could jump a few centimetres higher than usual. However, when playing Nekoma, Hinata was influenced quite a lot by the fact that he and Kenma had an intense rivalry besides their friendship, and Hinata usually showed better game sense in the games against Nekoma than any other teams. Yachi truly had been godsend and contributed a lot more to them team than she was aware of.

Other than Hinata and Yachi, Kageyama had never really talked to the other first years, at least willingly, and that did not change during this training camp, however, he did notice how Tsukishima changed his attitude drastically after a few days, which lead to a massive improvement, not only for him, but for the overall defence of the team. He also noticed that now that Hinata wasn't spending all his time with him, he was getting a whole lot closer to Yamaguchi, whom Kageyama had initially just labelled as Tsukishima's sidekick, but was now beginning to think twice about.

Overall, this training camp had been nothing but good for the team and they had all become so much stronger. The only thing that was left now was for Kageyama and Hinata's new quick-strike to begin working on a more solid basis.

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 **(1) I don't know if this attack has been introduced in the anime yet, but it is first introduced as an attack used by Kuroo, and later by someone else, but that is definitely a spoiler so I won't say it in case I have any anime-only's reading this.**

 **(2) I actually don't know what this move/technique is called, but it is basically the spike Bokuto uses in their final match against Karasuno during the training camp. The one where he avoids the blockers by having his spike follow the net.**

 **Please leave a review and favorite, if you liked the chapter. That would mean a lot :3**


	12. Serve and Block

**Hello again! I think there were some problems with the mail-system for last chapter, so if you haven't read Chapter 11, I suggest you do that first.**

 **If there are any Volleyball experts out there, then I apologize in advance as I the only knowledge I have about Volleyball is what Haikyuu! has taught me, so basically everything else is made up, but that's okay, right? :3**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

* * *

 _~Serve & Block~_

Tsukishima Kei. A first-year at Karasuno High School and a member of the Volleyball Club. He had joined the club with his childhood friend Yamaguchi Tadashi and it seemed that though he had both experience and physical advantages in the sport, he had little interest in the club and viewed it as mare time killing. He was full of pride, annoying and way too smart for anyone's liking, except for Yamaguchi who saw no flaws in him for whatever reason and followed him wherever he went. He had earned a spot as a regular based solely on height, but at the rapid pace the team was growing, height would no longer make up for the lack of ability and strength that others on team possessed. Of course, it was likely that he didn't care and that he'd actually be relieved to be switched as a regular.

This was how Kageyama had thought of Tsukishima up until now and the Tsukishima in his head would never, in a million years, do what this Tsukishima had just done. If Kageyama had indeed hear correctly, that is.

A few minutes earlier Yachi had left the gymnasium to help Shimizu attend to some late night business and Kageyama, unable to practise the new toss on his own, began to clear up in the gym. There was only two days left of the week-long training camp and Kageyama was almost certain that it would still take some time until the toss was stable enough to use for a match. Kageyama had just begun to pick up all the plastic bottles he used for practise, when the door slid open. He had expected Yachi or Hinata step in, but to his great surprise, it had been Tsukishima. At first Kageyama didn't think much of it. He could just had been sent to deliver a message about food or a late night meeting, but it turned out to be nothing of the sort.

For a long, long time Tsukishima didn't actually say anything and, under normal circumstances, Kageyama would have said something, because Tsukishima's presence itself tended to annoy the ever living shit out of him, but this Tsukishima was different. He seemed reserved, almost shy. He was looking down, not in the way that a child would after they had done something they shouldn't, but more like he was just avoiding eye-contact. He had was hands folded in front of him and for a person who was almost 190 centimetres tall, he seemed rather small at the moment.

"Can you teach me the Jump Serve?" Tsukishima voice was low and the question was asked slowly, almost as if he was asking for the impossible. Kageyama, who was very intensely staring at Tsukishima, caught him lifting his gaze, if only for a second, after the question had been asked. After some more awkward silence, which would most definitely kill someone like Hinata, who didn't know what silence was, Kageyama just said the first thing that had come to mind, when he'd finally gotten over the shock that was Tsukishima asking for help from none other than Kageyama.

"Why?"

"... To become stronger," His voice was louder and more determined this time. It almost sounded like the Tsukishima who, when helping Hinata and Kageyama with their studies, would answer a question as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. But only almost.

However, the answer didn't sit right with Kageyama, "Why the Jump Serve? You're a Middle Blocker. Should you not be focusing on your blocking?" Kageyama's voice came out harsh, but this was Tsukishima, it wouldn't face him.

"As it stands now," Tsukishima started and lifted his head ever so slightly to look Kageyama directly in the eyes, "Hinata and I are the weakest in both receives and serves. Our weapons, which are the blocks and the spikes, are only just enough to get us by as regulars, and in both our cases, this is not due to our own ability. Hinata can only stand on the court as long as you do and I have nothing than my height and a just above average block-read.

"Until now there has been no one to take our places, but after this training camp, that'll change. Karasuno is growing stronger, everyone knows that and I want to continue to stand on the court. Practising my blocks alone won't be enough, if there is someone who can top me in spikes, receives and serves."

"...No," Kageyama said firmly, "No. There is another reason. You are going out of your way to ask me to help you. If that was your only reason you would go to Nishinoya-san to practise you receives or Daichi-san to improve your spike, but you came to me for the Jump Serve. Why does it have to be the serve?"

Tsukishima was silent for a while. His head gaze was once again at ground, he was biting his lip and it looked like he was contemplating whether or not he should tell Kageyama the reason. In the end he did.

"I want to stand on the court with Yamaguchi."

That confused Kageyama even more. "... But... Yamaguchi's weapon is the Jump Floater Serve... How does you having a strong serve help you obtain that goal?"

"I already told you. The weakest servers on the team are me and Hinata. Yamaguchi's only weapon at the moment is his serve, which means that his role will be a Pinch Server. Yamaguchi will take the spot of whoever has the weakest serve and I do not intend to lose to Hinata."

In that moment, Kageyama saw something he had never seen before. A Tsukishima with a willpower strong enough to rival Hinata's. How could he refuse?

* * *

It was the time for individual practice. Kageyama and Yachi had left to practise his new serve and Tsukishima had probably been kidnapped by Bokuto and Kuroo again, but apart from those three, all the members of Karasuno Volleyball Club was gathered in the first gymnasium. They were practising the synchronised attack (Suga version) and however wasn't currently on court was getting advise by Coach Ukai. Both Hinata and Yamaguchi were off court at the moment and it occurred to Hinata that he had yet to ask Yamaguchi about Tsukishima, since the day Yamaguchi had asked him for advise.

"So, what did you tell Tsukishima?" Hinata asked curiously, sitting down besides Yamaguchi.

"Eh?"

"Tsukishima seems a lot different after you talked to him, so I figured you said something pretty cool?"

"I- I don't know. I just said what was on my mind..."

"Well, whatever you said made him do free practise of his own will. I bet Karasuno will become even stronger now!" Hinata shouted enthusiastically.

"Yes... I bet Tsukki will get really strong," Yamaguchi said fondly and then turned to look Hinata straight in the eye, "Say, Hinata, would you like to practise with me?"

"Sure!"

* * *

Hinata and Yamaguchi entered the fourth gym, where a couple of Fukurodani and Shinzen members were either practising or simply chatting after a hard day of training.

"Do you want me to help with serve practise?" Hinata asked Yamaguchi, knowing that he spent all of his individual practise on the Jump Floater Serve.

"Actually, I was thinking that I could practise my spikes and you could try to block or receive.. Depending on what you want to practise."

"Why your spike," Hinata asked, tilting his head slightly.

"While aiming to be a Pinch Server is good and all, I would someday like the strength to stand on court with Tsukki for a full match and to do that I need more than just my serve. Right?" Yamaguchi smiled warmly at Hinata, who couldn't help but smile back at him...

"But don't we need a Setter?" Hinata pointed out and it became quite clear that Yamaguchi hadn't really thought of that, but before he could say anything, another conversation started.

"Okay, that'll be it for today," someone from Shinzen told a little group that had been practising and they all started packing their stuff, except for one.

"Um, I think I'll stay for a little while to practise my toss." The person was a first-year (going by height) and not a regular of the Shinzen team, which meant that neither Hinata nor Yamaguchi knew his name, but did this not seem like the perfect scenario for a duo missing a Setter?

Hinata was fast on his feet and had already asked the unknown Shinzen member if they could practise together before Yamaguchi had made his way to them. The guy seemed very flattered that one of Karasuno's regulars wanted to practise with him and accepted immediately, whilst showering Hinata with compliments that were clearly making Hinata very light headed.

Yamaguchi and the first-year (he was indeed a first-year) quickly exchanged names and their practise began. In the beginning Yamaguchi had been hesitant with criticism, but after awhile he'd found his voice and courage, and were able to give both Hinata and the Shinzen Setter advise. Practising with Hinata proved to not only be fun, but also extremely useful. Where Yamaguchi could help Hinata with the timing of his block, as well as the right stance for receives, Hinata could help Yamaguchi with his cross spike, which he'd always had problems with.

The three of them ended their practise session with ten Jump Floater Serves from Yamaguchi and even with two receivers, they only managed to actually receive two of the Serves. Although Yamaguchi refrained from being too proud of himself as they were neither Daichi nor Nishinoya.

* * *

Kageyama helping Tsukishima with his Jump Serve seemed to not be time wasted. Tsukishima had been prepared to help Kageyama with his blocks and as much as Kageyama didn't think that he had a weak block (he gathered that only Asahi and Tsukishima could actually say that they were better than him), he soon found that he could learn a lot from Tsukishima, who had absorbed an awful lot from the little time he'd spent blocking with Nekoma's Kuroo. They also discussed various blocking tactics as there is much more to blocking than simply jumping up with your hands above your head. Kageyama much preferred this Tsukishima over the annoying prick, who had originally joined the club and he had even caught himself thinking that talking to Tsukishima was pleasant, though he had quickly dismissed that as him being caught up in the moment.

Kageyama had originally assumed that when it came to Tsukishima doing a Jump Serve, his strength would be the force behind it. Tsukishima had long arms, which meant that his hand would reach a higher speed than someone shorter than him. This would in turn mean that the ball would move faster and be harder to receive unless it came straight on. This turned out not to be the case and Kageyama started thinking that he should just stop trying to predict anything that regarded Tsukishima, because he seemed to never be right. Kageyama had quickly noticed that while Tsukishima's serve wasn't as strong as Kageyama or Asahi's serve, it was precise. Tsukishima had always claimed that aiming was something out of his ability range, but that seemed to be just as true as the fact that Hinata was two metres tall. With all the practise Tsukishima had done blocking, he had somehow gained some insane control over the movements and positioning of his hands, which allowed him to pin point which direction the ball should go in. After getting the hang of the form, Kageyama had started trying to receive the serves, which in the beginning hadn't proved more difficult than receiving Hinata's (and that was saying something). That was until Tsukishima discovered that he could control the direction of the ball ever so slightly by cupping his hand a little bit. This made it harder for Kageyama to receive as the serve now looked the same as before, but had a completely different angle, which Kageyama found hard to receive.

After Tsukishima had bypassed Kageyama's defence a solid five times in a row, Kageyama only had one thought: _If Hinata doesn't up his game, Tsukishima will surpass him within a month._

* * *

 **Thank you for reading, if you liked the chapter please favorite or leave a little review :3 Also please let me know if you like the focus on the other characters?**


	13. Hello to an Old Friend

**Hi, another late update, I know, but I have discovered that University + writing + life in general, is just a bit too much, so I have decided to cut back on the updates and only upload a new chapter on the first and the third friday of every month. I hope that's okay.**

 **On another note, I am now going into manga territory, so if you are an anime only watcher, who does NOT want to be spoiled about the events of the manga, then DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER. If you have not read past chapter 190, then turn around, go back, close the page, I don't care, please stop reading as I do not want to be the reason that you get spoiled.**

 **So, one more time: THIS CHAPTER SPOILS THE MANGA UP UNTIL CHAPTER 190!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu!**

* * *

 _~Hello to an Old Friend~_

The Spring Tournament preliminaries are over and Karasuno has managed to fight themselves through it and come put victorious. There were a few injuries here and there, but nothing major that wouldn't heal within a week. Hinata knows that they've worked hard to get where they are, but somehow their victory doesn't seem like an impossible dream come true. He didn't know what it was, but it seemed that true battle was still yet to come and even though they had managed to beat both The Great King and Ushijima, something told Hinata that Karasuno hadn't fully spread their wings. It wasn't the feeling like they could still improve, it was the feeling that they hadn't actually used their full power yet. Again not meaning that their opponents hadn't been strong, just that they had carefully selected which of their weapons to use against them and which ones to keep hidden. And it wasn't that Hinata was extremely observant of people and knew exactly what they were thinking and all that and it wasn't like he was hiding a secret superpower that allowed him to know these things, but it was more a combination of a few things that would keep Hinata awake at night.

It was things like going up to the roof to eat with his classmates and catching a glimpse of Kageyama and Tsukishima talking to each other, which couldn't possibly be right. It was Tsukishima leaving practice early, only to join practice with adult players. It was the way Kageyama changed the way he spoke to the other first years, like he was slowly warming up to him and the way Tsukishima used the word 'King' less and less. It was the way Nishinoya would look at Yamaguchi, like he a challenge he could never get bored of. It was the sheer air of confidence suddenly surrounding the first years, something which usually only surrounded Tanaka and Nishinoya (and occasionally Kageyama, when he got really cocky). Hinata had noticed all these things, and he was sure that there were many more and that he wasn't the only one who taking note of the subtle change concerning his fellow first years.

* * *

It was about a week after the preliminaries that the topic was first brought up by someone else, and that someone else was Yachi. The two of them had bumped into each other during lunch break and decided to eat together, because why not, and they happened to walk by Tsukishima's class, where they not only saw Tsukishima without Yamaguchi, but Tsukishima with Kageyama.

"I thought that the two of them didn't get along..." Yachi said in a low voice, as they slowly walked away from the classroom.

"They don't... " Hinata mused, "I mean Tsukishima is all like fwoosh, with his brains and stuff, but then Kageyama is like BAM, and they don't like each other... I think."

"...I'm not sure I get it, but if they don't get along, then why are they talking?"

"I don't know, but maybe we should just ask," Hinata smiled, there was no harm in asking.

* * *

A few days after Hinata and Yachi had talked about what was going on between Kageyama and Tsukishima, Hinata got part of his answer to what the two of them had been talking about. The Captain had suggested a match between the more experienced part of the team against the less experienced ones, in order to see how they would cope with different situations on that basis. That meant that teams were basically split according to number, which in turn meant that all of the first years played on the same team, which usually wasn't ever the case when the team split up against each other. After the more experienced players had won two sets and were about to win their third, Kageyama whispered something to Tsukishima, who just nodded, which in itself was a weird sight, because when had Tsukishima ever done what Kageyama told him to, without some else, usually the Captain or Yamaguchi, interfering and then convincing him to do it? But the really weird thing was when it became Tsukishima's turn to serve and Hinata was in the front row, not actually looking at him, the ball suddenly hit the floor on the other side of the net with a force that undoubtedly came from a jump serve. The silence lasted for a good minute, while everyone, except Kageyama, just stared wide-eyed at Tsukishima, who slowly looked more and more likely to just walk away, because God Knows that he wasn't used to getting attention, when a sassy remark wasn't involved. Yamaguchi was the first one to speak up.

"Nice Tsukki," he cheered, as he always did with Tsukishima, but it was clear from his voice that he had not known about this prior to the actual serve. However, Yamaguchi's voice seemed to slowly bring life to the team, and the game resumed. Though Tsukishima managed to get the team three points with his serve, they still lost the set and the team once again split to polish their individual skills and, as always, Tsukishima left to practice with another team.

"Did anyone know about Tsukishima?" The Captain asked as soon as Tsukishima had left the gym.

"I did," Kageyama said, and all eyes went to him in an instant.

"Why do _you_ know?" Tanaka asked, clearly just as confused by the whole Tsukishima-Kageyama situation as Hinata and Yachi.

"We've been practising together for some time," Kageyama said with a voice he could have used to say 'I brush my teeth in the morning'.

No one seemed to be able to say anything about it and in the end they just resumed their individual practice.

* * *

Fast forward another few days and the first years, excluding Yachi, where all sat on the roof. They were supposed to be studying, since they had a free period before practice began, but for some reason none of them really had any motivation to do so (not that Hinata and Kageyama usually had any, but grades were important... sometimes.). Tsukishima was lying on his stomach reading a book about something Hinata didn't remember and on top of that, it was in English, so Hinata kind of still considered it studying. Yamaguchi was sitting right next to Tsukishima, as usual, and was doodling on his math homework. Hinata sat opposite him, eating fruit very slowly as to have an excuse not to read about the ancient history of Japan, which was bound to be on next weeks test. Kageyama was lying besides him, tossing a ball up and down. All in all, they were all very chilled and demotivated.

"Does anybody want a cookie?" Yamaguchi suddenly asked and handed everyone a cookie, not letting anyone decline his offer.

"Mmm," Hinata exhaled as he took a bite, "This is really good, where did you get them?"

"Tsukki made them for me." Yamaguchi said, looking in Tsukishima's direction briefly, before turning his attention back to Hinata and Kageyama, who had almost choked on the cookie, when Yamaguchi had answered.

"Tsukishima made these? He can bake?" Kageyama said between coughs.

"I'm right here, Your Majesty," Tsukishima said softly, his voice not really supporting the remark, as he mostly just sounded mildly tired.

"Does Tsukishima bake a lot for you," Hinata asked curiously, because he found it rather odd, even though the two of them were close childhood friends and didn't really fit Tsukishima's character to bake cookies for people. Not even Yamaguchi.

"Haha, no, no, it's a 'Thank You' gift. And it's also because, when we first met, Tsukki saved me from some bullies and as a Thank You back then, I gave him some cookies," Yamaguchi laughed innocently as he rubbed the back of his head, realising how odd the situation seemed to outsiders.

"Wow, that's so cool," Hinata exclaimed and got a little closer to Yamaguchi, "He saved you? Tsukishima is so cool! He is tall, smart and cool! It's so unfair!"

"Like I said, I'm still right here," Tsukishima declared, though not for a second looking up from the book he was reading.

"Is that how you became friends?" Hinata asked, suddenly very interested in their past, since he'd always wondered how someone as hostile as Tsukishima had ever made a friend like Yamaguchi.

"Not really. It was a bit of a coincidence actually. A few days after the incident, I joined a Volleyball club and Tsukki was there too. It took me some time to talk to him though, which is why I gave him the cookies, so I would have an excuse to talk to him."

"And after that the two of you became friends! I wish I had childhood friends, I only have some from Middle School," Hinata thought out loud.

"Actually, back then there were three of us..." Yamaguchi said slowly, like he couldn't quite remember the details.

"Three...?" Hinata tilted his head, "What happened to the third one?"

"When I joined, Tsukki already had a friend on the team, but then the club grew too big, so they split it in two and we happened to get separated. Although, it's probably because of that person that Tsukki and I went to Karasuno, so even though we don't know him anymore, I'm really glad he was there, " Yamaguchi smiled widely, but Hinata was still curious.

"Why was he the reason you came to Karasuno?"

"When the club split up, the three of us made a promise to go to the same High School and at that time Karasuno was really strong, so we decided that it would either be here or Shiratorizawa."

Now, Hinata didn't even get to having a reaction, because the ball which Kageyama had been tossing suddenly hit his head and he turned to Tsukishima and asked:

"Do you have an older brother?" To which Tsukishima just looked weirdly at him, before answering that, yes, he did have an older brother and why was that suddenly relevant, which he never got an answer to, as Kageyama just kind of froze for a while. And while Hinata fully expected Kageyama to be the one to explain his weird behaviour, it was Tsukishima who spoke first.

"Are you telling me that...? No, it can't be, that's too freaky!" Tsukishima turned to Yamaguchi with big eyes and perhaps they were communicating through telepathic means, but whatever Tsukishima was thinking, Yamaguchi suddenly caught on too and now all three of them looked weirdly surprised and freaked out, while Hinata was just plainly confused.

"What? What?! What's going on?"

"You know the third person I was talking about..?" Yamaguchi said slowly, and Hinata nodded frantically, "I think it's Kageyama."

Hinata was lost for words… "What?"

* * *

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